Road to Hell
by KnightsOfShiloh
Summary: All Elizabeth wanted was a job. Unfortunately, due to Loki's mischief, she finds herself at the newest position in Stark Industries... but she'll need more than the Avenger's initiative. She can't return home, and her friend Theresa ends up alone again... except for the occasional visit.
1. Chapter 1

**This happened... maybe :3 Ok so no.**

**So, we're just two fangirls who decided to work together to make this :) We promise mischief and dancing and lots of love and laughter. Please do enjoy...**

**Also, we don't own any Avengers...dammit.**

* * *

Tony Stark tried hard to keep his face neutral. He was pretty certain some of the ire he felt was evident in his expression. Honestly, the constant noise of the helicopter blades was drumming in his head like a chorus of native war drums. It was insufferable, but Pepper had demanded that he take an aerial tour of the new Star Industries building, sans Iron Man suit. 'Like a normal person', she'd said. Ugh... normal people.

At the moment, he was really trying to keep things as kosher as possible with Pepper. Their relationship had ended the way most of his early experiments did – up in smoke. Still, she was trying to be professional and remain his friend and business partner. So, she was still putting up with a lot from him... it only seemed fair that he try to meet her half way. Still it was upsetting.. Pepper had a tiny smirk on her face that worried him.

"You know, I could've done this in 10 seconds if I'd brought my suit." He muttered into the receiver on his headphones.

"But if you were in your suit, you wouldn't be here." Pepper said sweetly. It was unnerving. Normally when Pepper was being sweet it was because she wanted to be sweet, but this was... it was odd. Like she was leading him up to something.

"That's kind of the point." He grumbled, wishing the throbbing headache from his hangover would just give it up already.

"Oh, but I wanted you here. Without your suit." And that was when Tony noticed her eyes. They were green... vivid, bright green. Not blue like they normally were. He watched with something akin to horror as Pepper's hair darkened to black, her form shifted from feminine to masculine, and Loki grinned back at him from the other seat. "At. My. Mercy."

…. shit berries.

* * *

I fidget nervously as I sat in one of the biggest corporate interviews of my life. Pepper Potts was looking over my credentials analytically. Unfortunately, just like every other interview, it was going much too slow for my taste. Most of my teachers called it ADHD, except for one. Professor Xavier had called it Technopathy.

My brain functioned on a psychic level with computers and machines run by computers, and, as such, my brain functioned like a high-speed computer. It made interviews and other stuffy social affairs _that_ much more tedious. While Miss. Potts surveyed my various references, my mind was patching into the internal network around me. Even just sitting here I could view everything Stark Industries had on file and see everything the security cameras could see. I'd learned about my mutant abilities, and I knew better than anything how to cover my tracks. If anything, it would appear in the system like an elite hacker or highly functioning AI. No one would know it was me, especially since all I was doing was sitting here.

"Everything seems fine." she said, drawing me back into the present. "I'd just like to ask you a few more questions." She continued as she stacked my various papers into piles. I nodded with a smile. "So, do you-" Miss Potts started. She was interrupted by a thunderous crash and a man who suddenly came hurtling through the ceiling.

Miss Potts screamed and we both ran over to the man lying on his back in pain. Upon further inspection, we saw that it was Tony Stark.

"Are you all right?" Miss Potts asked, touching his face as if making sure he was still intact.

"I really have to crash proof these ceilings," he said absently, opening his eyes. "Can we get someone on that?" Mr. Stark sat up and brushed himself off.

"Tony, what happened?" Miss Potts asked, sounding even more nervous.

Mr. Stark looked over at me curiously. "Who's this?"

I cleared my throat. "I'm Elizabeth Gracious, Mr. Stark. Pleased to meet you."

Miss Potts rolled her eyes. "We need to get you to the hospital."

Before anything else could be said, an alarm finally decided to go off. My face became stricken while tapping into the system. I knew who was coming. Loki, the Norse god of mischief and one of the nation's most feared super criminals, came flying through the hole in the ceiling, aiming the heels of his boots straight for Mr. Stark.

Miss Potts and I darted out of the way. She shrieked something that sounded like "Happy!", which I thought was rather bizarre, and plastered herself against the wall nearest to the door. I let my back hit the far wall, staring in horror as Loki towered over Mr. Stark. The villain's foot had landed squarely on Mr. Stark's chest, pinning him down to the floor again… but his back was to me, and I doubted very seriously that he'd be paying attention to what I was doing.

My brain riffled through the electronic plans on file for the building. I'd noticed several pocket cashes that were hidden in the walls early on, but I'd thought nothing of it. Still, there was one right next to me, and I knew its contents would help. With my mind, I opened the secret compartment in the wall that kept an arsenal hidden away. I grabbed a rocket launcher and aimed it straight at the small of Loki's. "Bazanga." I growled to myself as I pulled the trigger. The rocket sailed forward, hitting the intruder right between his shoulder blades….. Okay, so the damn thing had kick, and I wasn't used to actually firing rocket launchers. Guess it was good that I'd aimed so low. Loki sailed through the wall of windows in front of him. I lost sight of him as the rocket exploded. When the debris cleared, the man had disappeared. I hefted the rocket launcher off my shoulder. My knees bent heavily as I sagged not only from the weight of the rocket launcher but from the sudden lack of adrenaline.

From his spot on the floor, Mr. Stark looked over at Miss Potts and pointed at me, "Okay, she's hired."

* * *

Theresa heard footsteps upstairs. That was what woke her up. The near constant purring of her two cats had become so ingrained that she barely even recognized it. Unless they did something like meow repetitively and very loudly, she rarely heard her cats, and they had little reason to do that when she kept them fed properly. She wondered absently what time it was, rolling just to the side to reach for her cell phone. 1:48PM. Oh, it was definitely time to get up and moving. She rolled languidly onto her belly. She lifted herself up onto her hands first and then pushed back away from her hands, shifting her weight onto her knees. She felt the tension bunch and release along her spine.

Her calico cat, mostly solid black with faded splotches of orange with her vivid blue eyes mewled at her and She smiled. "Good afternoon to you too, River." Theresa murmured with a happy smile. She scoured the shadows and found her other cat, a dark gray cat with bright orangey-gold eyes staring back at her from her bedroom door. "I'm coming, Vlad. I'm coming." She murmured, rolling onto her back and stretching again. River moved out of the way, joining Vlad on the ground near the door. She let herself indulge in another long stretch before letting her body go lax and sliding out of bed quite literally. She carefully slid the door open, releasing the cats.

The doorway to her bedroom was actually a bookcase. The moving book case tilted inward just so to allow her to pass through the doorway, then slid back so that a three column book case covered the entry to her bedroom. And though her bedroom was painted in a dark purple that suited her when she slept, her living room and kitchen were painted in a bright chartreuse green – the color had been called 'Petal' but it really looked more like celery to her. There were pictures covering so much of her wall.. most of them taken by herself. Simple pictures protected by thin plastic with little in the way of frames. Most of her fixtures and draperies were all in sleek black.

She walked over to her tiny kitchenette corner and picked up the two cat bowls that were empty on the floor. Setting them neatly on the black and tan speckled counter top, she carefully took a few scoops of cat food for each cat before setting them back down on the floor. Theresa smiled, sitting down with her back against the cabinets, watching the two cats eat. She would absently pet them now and then, but for the most part she just enjoyed taking care of them.

Theresa smiled happily when she smelled the distinct aroma of coffee wafting from upstairs. Elizabeth hated coffee, so she knew the pot that was brewing was just for her. she pulled herself up into a standing position just in time for her 'back door' to open.

"Hey, Sleepy head, it's 2... oh. You're up." Elizabeth said upon seeing her. "I've got coffee brewing." She said in a sweet bribing tone.

"I was on my way up." Theresa said slipping her slippers on.

Elizabeth and Theresa shared a 'two story' house. Really, it was a basement with a house above. Granted, Theresa's basement dwellings were perfectly finished, giving her a full one-level house of her own. The stairs that led upstairs started in the basement pantry, just on the other side of Theresa's kitchenette wall. Theresa's 'back door' was the door that led into the pantry from her side of the house. The stairs led up to Elizabeth's part of the house, opening in Elizabeth's living room...though, technically the entire house belonged to Theresa. She had built it all with the money she got from her parents... From her inheritance.

Theresa followed Elizabeth upstairs to the living room, and turning a corner from the hallway to the back bedrooms, she found her way to the very open kitchen...where the delicious coffee was brewing.

"When did you finally get to sleep?" Elizabeth asked.

"6:45." Theresa answered, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Elizabeth was nodding. "So.. right after I left."

"Pretty much." she murmured, spooning a bit of sugar into her cup and mixing in the appropriate amount of cream. She liked a bit of coffee with her cream and sugar. "How'd your interview go?"

"Uh." Theresa looked up to find a strange expression on Elizabeth's face. She seemed somewhere between shocked and amused. "I got the job." she said with a soft disbelieving laugh.

"Congratulations!" Theresa cheered. "I knew you would. You've totally got the skills for it. You look a little shell shocked."

"I kind of don't want to talk about it right now. I don't want to think about it. I think my brain hasn't fully processed it yet, and.. I could use a bit of our own version of normal right now." Elizabeth explained tiredly. Theresa nodded, offering her friend a concerned look. She didn't fully understand Elizabeth's reasoning, but she wouldn't push the only friend she was left with.

"What would you like to talk about?" Theresa asked, letting the heat from the coffee seep into her fingers.

Elizabeth sighed. "What about that research you were doing before I left? Did it end well?"

Theresa nodded eagerly. "Did you know that the Ash tree is the female equivalent of the Oak tree?"

Elizabeth looked confused, her face scrunching up slightly. "What?"

"It's said to be the first tree created." Theresa continued quickly. "The Ash is the Queen of the Forest, and the Oak is the King. Basically the feminine equivalent of floral tree royalty."

Elizabeth blinked rapidly, obviously taking a moment to process what Theresa was saying. "I did not know that." She said. Theresa took a long swig of her coffee and closed her eyes blissfully at the lovely hazelnut taste. "So.. that's helpful?"

Theresa nodded rapidly again. "It's useful... and interesting."

"I suppose that much is true. The interesting part at least." Elizabeth admitted with a smirk. "Did you get more writing done?"

"In the AM? Are you kidding?" Theresa asked, giving her peculiar look. "Early AM is for research. I'll pick up writing where I left off this afternoon around 5."

"As usual." Elizabeth said with a nod. There was even an alert on her phone that reminded her that it was time to gather up materials and start writing again. It was so basic, even with Elizabeth moving in so suddenly, Theresa'd just assumed she knew the routine by now.

"When do you start work?" Theresa asked.

"Tomorrow." She said with finality. That was good. The sooner she got into her own routine, the better.

"And what will you be doing?"

"I'm not sure..." She said. "Mr. Stark said something about directly assisting him with a project, but he didn't elaborate."

It took a moment for those words to sink in fully. "Tony Stark?" Theresa asked dumbfounded.

"That is where the interview was." Elizabeth reminded with a bit of snark.

"I know, but I just assumed..." Theresa trailed off, her face a comical mixture of landed fish and kid in candy store. "You're going to be working directly with Tony Stark?" Theresa knew that her pitch and tone was rising, but it was mostly due to excitement. Honestly! The girl had gotten a job with a man she idolized, working very near to him? Why wasn't she more excited?

"It's a long story. I... I haven't fully processed everything that happened yet. " She sighed heavily. "We could probably turn on the news, and you'd see what happened. I'm still reeling from it all."

Part of what Elizabeth was saying made perfect sense. She'd just scored an amazing job under a man she admired greatly... that would be quite a shock for anyone. But something about the way she was saying it suggested there was so much more that had happened.

"News, huh?" Theresa asked. "Let me just fix myself some eggs and toast, and we'll migrate over to the living room."

* * *

**And that's all of the first chapter :3 See you later!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 is here! Once again, we don't own anything Marvel (unfortunately). Elizabeth and Theresa are ours :)**

**Special thanks to leximander, Nausicaa of the Spirits, Lady Seiryu, and brightcat12 for adding our story to their Favorites/Story Alert lists :3 You guys make our smiles happen.**

* * *

When I got to Stark Industries, I saw Mr. Stark standing in front of the building next to a running limo.

Thinking Mr. Stark was just going away on business, I just walked past him and said, "Good morning."

He then put his hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"Good, you're on time. I need you to come with me."

"Oh, ok-"

Before I could finish talking, Mr. Stark motioned for Happy to open the door for us. Before I got on, I looked at Happy questioningly, and he just shrugged at me and looked away. Not because he didn't know where we were going, but because he did in fact know, but he wasn't allowed to tell me.

"Okay, so here's the thing," Mr. Stark started after we got settled into the limo and Happy started driving. "You're going to be in charge of a building."

I slowly looked over and stared at him. "A...building?"

"Uh, have you heard of the Avengers?"

"Yes, of course," I said, not sure where this was going.

"I have a job in mind for you with this new building."

"I assumed," I said with snark.

Mr. Stark glared at me, then quickly looked ahead of him again. "I took it upon myself to be in charge of building the Avengers HQ, since I'm the only one with the money and resources."

I nodded. This made sense, but I was unsure if Mr. Stark really could handle being in charge of anything.

He continued. "So, the Headquarters will consist of a manor with a bunker underground with labs and equipment. What I need you to do is basically just be in charge of the house. Keep it stocked with everything you will need. Also, if you need anything specific, you can ask Jarvis."

"Jarvis?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Hello, Miss." I heard a voice say.

I looked around and didn't see anyone else in the car, and then it dawned on me. I quickly tapped into the system and saw that Mr. Stark had Jarvis as head of the system.

"Hello," I said, gritting my teeth. I was angry for not figuring out who Jarvis was earlier. "I'm guessing that's not the GPS." I mused as an aside to Mr. Stark.

He smirked, nodding. "All my cars come Jarvis equipped." He announced. "He's also in my homes as well, just as a personal assistant." he explained needlessly. Now that I'd bothered to access the main frame, I could see quite clearly who or what Jarvis was.

As I was mentally kicking myself, the limo pulled up to the new Stark manor. As I got out, I noticed Happy was keeping the limo running.

"This probably won't take long, knowing Mr. Stark." I thought to myself. We walked into the empty building, and Mr. Stark started explaining my job in greater detail.

"So, you're going to furnish everything; the living room, bathrooms, kitchen, and all that," he said, gesturing widely to everything. He then started giving me a tour of the house, opening doors and explaining what rooms were what.

"Leave everyone's rooms alone, because when everyone moves in here, they can place their belongings in their rooms they way they want them." Mr. Stark then reached into his pocket and handed me a plastic card. "Here, this is a credit card. Please use it wisely."

I nodded, taking the card.

We then headed back into the living room and before Mr. Stark reached the door, he said, "Okay, so, we're good here. I'll be here on occasion, but I'll probably pop in tomorrow."

"All right, I'll start immediately. I kind of already know what I want to do with this place." I said, looking around.

"Good. If you need anything, just call Jarvis," he reminded.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Stark."

I put the credit card in my purse, and when I looked back up, Mr. Stark was already back in the limo.

And with that, he left, leaving me alone in an empty house to my own devices.

* * *

Theresa made her way upstairs, overjoyed (in a tired sort of way) that the coffee maker had a timer that allowed it to brew at a certain time (1:55 PM) automatically. With her coffee mostly brewed, she focused on cooking some eggs for herself. During the process, River and Vlad would mosey upstairs to sit with her while she watched TV and ate her breakfast. She had just managed to get her eggs plated and her toast buttered when Vlad let out a startled hiss.

"What's the–"

Her question died in a yelp, as an arm bolted itself across her stomach and dragged her backwards against an immovable object. Vlad was not pleased. Of the two cats, he was the more territorial and aggressive towards strangers. Her cat launched himself forward, his teeth and claws finding their mark in the hand pinning her back. A foul tone hissed behind her in a language she didn't understand, but the hand jerked away in an attempt to dislodge the attacking cat. Theresa didn't need much encouragement. She darted forward, nearly losing her balance. In the end she came to a wobbly stop before turning to see who her would-be captor was. The man, wrapped in green linen, black leather and bronze armor, flung his hand with immense force, which sent poor Vlad sailing through the air towards Theresa. She jumped sideways and caught him in both arms, cradling him to her chest desperately.

"What in Odin's bowls!" Theresa cried indignantly. The man in her kitchen froze, staring at her with something west of shock and east of humor on his face. "Who'n the nine hells are you? And how'd you get into _my _house!" She demanded.

His face became wary... he stared at her curiously. "_Your _house? I was under the impression that a Ms. Elizabeth Gracious resided here." He said at last. His voice was so foreign. She expected it to be brash and booming, considering his demanding muscling into her home. But his accent was cultured and his voice was... different. Under other circumstances, she would've said it was soothing, but as she was currently standing in her night dress, a flimsy robe and slippers, it was anything but. _Nothing _was soothing right now.

"She does... Well, at the moment. Until she can work up enough money to get her own place." Theresa prattled nervously. She cradled Vlad to her carefully, petting him as soothingly as possible. It might be a good idea to put him down and let him scamper off. If this man attacked her again, at least she'd have Vlad somewhere waiting to lunge. "Poor, Vladislaus." She murmured at her cat. "It's okay sweetheart." She cooed, setting him gingerly on the tile floor. When she rose to stand again she looked over the intruder more critically. She had only seen the news stories that Elizabeth showed her yesterday, but it was very clear who was standing in her kitchen right now.

"I see. And where is Ms. Gracious now?" He asked tightly, eying her in much the same way she eyed him.

"... at work, of course." Theresa said softly. She watched as his jaw tightened minutely, perhaps an irritated twitch. "Lord Loki?" She asked carefully, and his eyes brightened considerably at this address.

"I am." He said loftily.

She considered him again. "If... If you would indulge me, please?" She requested, carefully shifting forward towards him. He didn't move, but he continued to stare at her in a way that suggested he would rip her arms from their sockets if she dared to offend him. She took another step forward, reaching up on tip toe and stretching her arm out as far as it would go, carefully poking his shoulder. His expression changed from wary to befuddled. It felt like smooth leather. She brought her finger back to her nose and sniffed it deeply. It smelled like worn leather, polish, something metallic and... mint? That was strange. "So... so you're real...?" she half said, half asked.

"What–"

"This would make so much more sense if it were all in my head." she said absently to the empty air in front of her as opposed to him. She stared into space (or at the dishwasher, not that she saw it) reminding herself that even if she could see, feel and smell Loki here that didn't necessarily mean it _wasn't _all in her head. After all, if her mind could conjure him here then it would be able to convince her that he was here through her other senses that it controlled. "Okay.. let's say for the sake of argument that you are actually here... why have you come?"

Loki's expression was baffled. He stared at her in shock. "I was seeking out Ms. Gracious."

Theresa pulled her robe more tightly around her, trying to cross her arms over her chest afterward as if that would offer more protection against that vivid green gaze. "I suppose that does sound plausible. It just seems so … unlikely."

"This _is _her residence." Loki reminded.

"Well yes, but she's begun assisting Tony Stark, the forever five-year-old genius." Theresa muttered with a scoff. She cleared her throat. "What do I call you, anyway?" She asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well, just 'Loki' is entirely too casual, but 'Your Highness' or 'Your Eminence' sounds too... human." She shook her head. "Your Lordship would be close, I suppose, but it still doesn't sound right." She sighed.

"You are peculiar." Loki announced.

"Yes." She replied in a tone that suggested this wasn't news.

He cocked his head to the side, studying her in a broader light. His eyes left her face and traveled along her body, which only made her feel more self conscious. When his eyes returned to hers, he asked, "How do most of your kind deal with that?"

"Those who must endure with apathy or curious affection. Most don't."

"I beg your pardon? 'Most don't' what?"

"Deal with it." The two of them stared at one another until Theresa turned her gaze downward. "I... I apologize, but I was fixing myself breakfast." She swallowed, steeling herself before looking up again. His eyes were still on her in that curious manor. The way that a child looks at a moth trapped in a bell jar. "Would you like some?"

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"Breakfast? Would you like some breakfast?" She clarified. He stared at her by means of reply. Her poor conversational skills notwithstanding, this was perhaps the worst encounter she'd ever had in her life. She was stuck somewhere between awed and terrified, and she was trying to find a way to find some sort of sturdy ground. "I, uh. I'm quite good at cooking breakfast sandwiches. I could thaw some sausage patties and make one for you, if you'd like." She continued.

"No thank you. I'm not hungry."

She felt a solid cold just between her shoulder blades and smiled as the truth behind that lie whispered its way into her mind. "You're lying."

His eyes widened momentarily before narrowing dangerously. "What did you say?" He demanded his tone deepening viciously.

She held up her hands quickly in a manner of surrender. "I meant no disrespect. But... But you were lying. You _are _quite hungry." She smiled sheepishly. "You just don't trust me to cook for you."

His expression was still wary, but some semblance of understanding was creeping in. Theresa didn't like that. He took a single step, stalking closer to her, and she took a careful hop backwards.

"Indeed." He murmured, glaring at her in an evaluative manner.

"I would be happy to cook for you." Theresa murmured. "I... I don't get the chance to cook for others very often." She had been so happy that Elizabeth was staying with her if only because she was able to cook for someone other than herself. A reclusive author's life was something she had chosen, but sometimes she felt her own neurosis were entirely too restrictive.

"Perhaps another time... I have much to do." He said. He nodded at her, still seeming confused be her behavior. "Farewell."

"Farewell." Theresa whispered softly, watching in rapt enthrallment as he disappeared in a puff of green fire and black smoke. Luckily, the magic didn't harm her or her home... that was something. She stood for a moment, just breathing and trying to process what had happened. Loki. Loki the Trickster. The God of Mischief, Lies, Fire, and Malice. He had been in her kitchen. Fleshing out her own worlds of fantasy had been one thing, but being confronted with legends she'd studied all her life... that was something different altogether. If Loki existed, then so did Puck and Hermes and Nezha and Nanabozho and Daucina and...and...and... oh, it was too much to even consider. What if every story she'd been told, every folk tale or song sung by ancients, had even a grain of truth in it?

Theresa jumped with a tiny squeak when River pranced across her feet. The cat mewed up at her in what appeared to be concern... but it could just be that she wanted attention.

"I... I need to." She looked over her breakfast, somewhat cooler now that it was forgotten on the table. "I should call Elizabeth." she told herself. Breakfast could wait.

* * *

I sat at my desk and took a breath. My best friend had just come into contact with the Norse god of mischief, Loki. The only thing I couldn't figure out was why he hadn't hurt her. Not that I wanted him to, but it just seemed odd for him to visit her and not do anything. What were his plans?

I sighed, and when I put my head down, I started tapping into the security cameras just to distract myself. The Avengers had arrived, but only to scope the place out and see the looks of things in and around the manor. I hadn't met them yet, as I had too many things to do in my office.

Clint and Natasha were outside on the back patio, talking. Nothing interesting was going on, so I moved to the living room. Steve was lying on the couch and no one else was in the living room; even if there had been, my eyes would be only on Steve, anyway. For a clean cut man, he was almost as attractive as Mr. Stark. After I was through ogling Steve, I skipped over to the kitchen to see Thor rummaging for food, but to no avail, as I have not ordered any food yet, other than pizza. Thor noticed this, and decided to take as pieces as possible.

Before I could see what else was going on in the house, I heard a knock at my office door.

I groaned and lifted my head up. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

The knocking continued.

"'Tis some visitor, tapping at my chamber door. Only this, and nothing more," I said, getting up.

"Nevermore," I heard someone say dryly.

I opened the door to see Mr. Stark leaning against the doorway. "Truly, sir, your forgiveness I implore." I said, almost giggling.

Mr. Stark's face twisted and he said, "Can I come in?" Before I started to quote The Raven again, he said, "A simple yes or no will do."

"Yes," I said, stepping aside.

Mr. Stark turned around and shut the door. "Let me just get straight to the point," he said. He hadn't turned around to face me. I tensed up. He was starting to make me nervous. "Loki has access to your house. Luckily, though, he hasn't found you there yet. But precautions should be taken into effect. I just got through talking to Fury about it."

Mr. Stark finally turned around. "In order for Loki to not find you or get to you, you need to permanently move into this house."

"What?" I practically shouted. "Permanently?"

"If you move here, you'll be safe, especially around the Avengers. You'll still be working and getting paid, you just won't be going home afterward. There's no way Loki will be able to get to you."

I walked back to my desk and collapsed into my chair. "And if I refuse?" I asked, not looking at Mr. Stark.

"I don't think that's an option right now." he said.

I sighed. A few minutes of silence went by, me staring blankly at my desk, and Mr. Stark standing uncomfortably by the door.

Mr. Stark finally spoke up. "I'll have someone get your things."

I looked up and stared at him. What he said wasn't really a statement, but more like he was asking for my permission.

"I need to call Theresa." I said.

"All right."

Mr. Stark opened the door but stopped and turned back around. "Everything'll be fine." he reassured.

That I wasn't so sure of. After Mr. Stark left, I hesitantly picked up my office phone. Before I started to dial Theresa's number, I saw through the security cameras of everyone relaxing and having fun. Something told me my good mood wouldn't last.

"Theresa?" I said, after she answered the phone in a shaky voice. "We need to talk."

* * *

Theresa watched nervously as multiple agents filtered through the different levels of her house. Some were checking for Loki (like he was hidden in a closet somewhere), and some were packing Elizabeth's things into boxes and carrying those boxes outside. Theresa had taken the time and had the foresight to pack all of Elizabeth's underthings and unmentionables into a large suitcase. River was docilely seated in her lap, and Theresa was clutching Vlad to her chest. The initial rush of having someone so powerful and dangerous in her home was over, leaving her with the most mind-numbing crash. She was still waiting for Elizabeth to get back home, because there were things you informed authorities about, and then there were things you gabbed with you best friend about. Part of her understood that Elizabeth was 'moving'... but another part of her was still expecting to _see her. It was so confusing._

Speaking of authorities, two agents were directing all of this chaos. One she'd only seen the barest hint of. He seemed more interesting in observing her from a distance and overseeing the grunt work the other agents were doing. The other agent was a dangerous looking redhead in a skin tight cat suit. She had been continuously questioning Theresa, not that it did much good.

At the moment, the only thing that Theresa could think was, _'I am so glad I had the chance to put pants on'._

"Are you certain he didn't say anything–"

"He said nothing to me of significance." Theresa said firmly, tired of all this. They weren't going to find him or anything of his in any part of her house. She didn't know anything about him, other than he appeared and disappeared as though it were magic, and he hadn't shared anything about his diabolical plans to her. "He was looking for Elizabeth."

The woman's expression became somewhat grim. "Did he say why?"

Theresa sighed. "Yes. And then we braided each others' hair and had a pillow fight." She heard a snicker from down the hall and assumed it was one of the other agents. "I told you everything that he said. There was no more. I was very happy to see him leave." she admitted.

Theresa did not enjoy being around people very much at all. It came with being a hermit. Still, there was very little that upset her more than surprise visits. She didn't enjoy surprises at all. It had been a surprise when her parents had died, it had been a surprise when her brother had sued her, and it had been a surprise when distant relatives came out of the wood work to brown nose for money. None of those experiences had been enjoyable in the least.

"I don't believe you fully understand how bad this is." The woman was saying.

"There are a dozen agents riffling through my house. I think I have some inkling." Theresa grumbled.

"The man you're telling us about is Loki."

"I know. I said so already." Theresa said. "It's why you're even here." She sighed. "Is he really.. I mean, is he really Loki or is he some mutant with a code name?"

"He is Loki." The woman assured her in a manner that was decidedly not reassuring. "He's the brother of Thor, and he is very _very dangerous."_

"I could tell." Theresa said with a soft scoff. She looked up at the woman interrogating her. "So... do I get to know who you are?"

"You can call me Widow."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Theresa muttered, but this 'Widow' pretended not to hear her.

"I'm part of a special team that responds to threats like Loki."

"There are threats like Loki?" Theresa whined incredulously.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of Victor von Doom and Magneto."

"Joy." Theresa muttered blandly.

"Normally, Loki doesn't appear unless he wants to cause some havoc."

Theresa sighed and shooed her cats off of her lap before standing. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. The god of mischief managed no mischief here. It's probably a fluke that he was even here at all."

"Loki doesn't do anything for no reason. He's cunning and –"

"I know about Loki. I've studied Norse legends." Theresa walked back into her kitchen in hopes that she could occupy herself with something. "I don't understand why he was here or why he wants to see Elizabeth."

"I'm fairly certain he wants to bring her to harm..."

"That seems unnecessary." Theresa murmured contemplatively.

"Well, Loki's brain doesn't function in the logical fashion that most peoples do." The man who was overseeing the other agents directed them outside before returning to Widow's side. "Everything's clear." He murmured. "No sign of Loki anywhere in this vicinity."

"Thanks, Hawk."

"I told you that." Theresa said with a pout. She sighed heavily. "When do I get to see Elizabeth?"

"Right now, we aren't sure. The Director is conferring with Mr. Stark about the next course of action." Widow let her eyes drift around the room again. "When she knows what's going on I'm sure she'll give you a call."

"Wonderful." Theresa groused. She looked around her kitchen. Her breakfast has long since been eaten, but she should at least offer. "Can I offer either of you something to eat?" She asked.

"No, thank– " Widow started.

"Sure." Hawk said with a smile. Theresa actually had to smile at the look Widow was giving him.

"By all means, sit down." She said motioning to the table. She gathered up a carton of potato salad she'd made a few days ago, some white American cheese and cheddar cheese, and the butter. She relocated everything beside the stove. She buttered two slices of bread, and laid one buttered side down in her skillet. She placed the white American cheese on the bread, spooning some potato salad over it, then she laid the cheddar cheese over it before placing the final bread slice on top. With a bit of heat and a well done flip, the sandwich was golden brown and perfectly done. She scooped up the sandwich and placed it on a plate.

"Here ya are." She said, handing the plate to 'Hawk', as he was called. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thank you… uh… what is it?"

"Potato salad grilled cheese." She answered smoothly. "Comfort food at its best." He seemed to agree as he begun inhaling the sandwich with gusto. Widow eyed him, somewhere between disgusted and impressed. Luckily, Widow's phone rang, and that kept her from commenting.

"Yes?" She said. "I see. No, it's your call. Very well. We're almost finished moving everything." She nodded to herself before snapping her cell phone closed. She looked at Hawk and pointed to the corner of her own mouth. "You've got a little something."

"What'd Stark say?" he asked, not seeming to mind.

"Not Stark. Fury." Widow said with a sigh before turning to face Theresa. "I think I will have one of those sandwiches, if you don't mind. I'm afraid you may have to indulge us a little longer."

* * *

**Aaand that's all for this edition! We'll be here...working on more :) Tip your wait staff and DFTBA!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Aaaaand we're back! Not much to add really, and we imagine you want to just get on to the story :) Only bit of news to really say is that we _do_ have a Tumblr account; it's knightsofshiloh .tumblr .com if anyone's interested. Names have been borrowed and changed to protect the guilty :3 Now, on to the story!**

* * *

The top level of the house was empty. Again. Theresa dazedly wandered down the hallway. She sat on what used to be Elizabeth's bed. The mattress was bare now, and all she could do was stare at the empty shelves... the agents hadn't even left any pictures behind. She supposed that was good. Elizabeth didn't need to endanger herself by coming back to the house, and it'd be better if she had all her momentous.

Today was the first morning waking up without Elizabeth in the house. She'd technically woken up at 2 to the smell of coffee... but she had no motivation to get out of bed. So she'd laid there until Vlad returned to the bed and began brushing against her insistently. After feeding the cats, she noticed it was already 3 in the afternoon. Talk about your late start...even for her. She'd wandered upstairs and poured herself some coffee, but she didn't have any motivation or craving for breakfast. She knew her routine was important, but right now... it was very difficult to make herself do anything.

She hated change.

* * *

I dragged myself in to the kitchen, not looking forward to what I needed to do for the day. I'd already established protocols for running this house, but now I needed to focus on stocking the kitchen and seeing the bedroom furniture that everyone had ordered was delivered to the proper rooms.

"Jarvis," I said. "When will the movers be at Stark Industries?" I'd decided it would be better for supplies to be delivered to Stark Industries. Stark employed plenty of delivery drivers and muscle for grunt-work, and they would be responsible for delivering supplies to the mansion. It was just better if all deliveries to the Avenger House were kept in house. This way there was less chance of anyone learning exactly what this mansion housed.

"They are already there, Miss." Jarvis replied.

"When will the furniture be here?"

"As they are loading the trucks, I estimate it shouldn't be very much longer. An hour perhaps."

"Good," I said, nodding. "It's about time everyone's bedroom furniture came in. I don't fancy sleeping on the couch again." Technically, I was still the only one _living_ here. Everyone else had a hotel room. I'd fallen asleep on the sofa last night with a tablet in my hand… It just felt easier to keep myself busy, but I hadn't counted on how tired I was. I'd woken up this morning with a blanket over me… I put it on my mental to-do list to scan surveillance and find out who had placed that blanket over me. I was secretly hoping it had been Mr. Stark. It would be fulfilling to know he'd stopped in to check on me and found me so busy with work I'd fallen asleep… Fulfilling and kind of touching. I walked into the kitchen and put my hands on my hips, deep in thought. "Okay, Jarvis." I started.

"I'm right here, Miss."

I jumped at Jarvis's sudden input. "Right. Yes. Very good." I then composed myself. I went to the kitchen table and picked up the folder I had about the Avengers' information. "Jarvis, is the catering truck going to be at Stark Industries soon?" I asked, flipping through the papers.

"They should be there at 3pm, Miss."

On the forms, Mr. Stark had everyone list the foods they hated, were allergic to, and the foods they loved, that way I knew what to keep stocked and what not to keep stocked. Trucks would make regular deliveries of groceries in order to keep our fridge and pantry stocked, but I'd also enlisted a catering service for the days when everyone was too busy to cook meals.

"And did they stick with the food list I made from everyone's files, Jarvis?"

"I hope so, Miss. We wouldn't want cabbage, especially. We don't want to anger Dr. Banner; we just put in new furniture." Jarvis replied.

I closed the folder. "Yes, Jarvis, I'm aware."

"Is that a tone I hear, Miss?"

"Of course not, Jarvis. Wouldn't dream of it." I said in a sarcastic manner. I sat down at the table. For now, all I had to do was wait for the delivery trucks to arrive. "Jarvis." I said after a while.

"Yes, Miss?"

"Could you make me a cup of tea?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that." he replied.

"Why not?" I whined.

"I can't physically make you a cup of tea." Jarvis maintained. "I have no physical body, Miss."

"Does that mean I have to do it myself?" I asked, putting my head down on the table.

"Yes, Miss. You know I would love to do it for you." Jarvis said.

"You're a good man, Jarvis." I said, standing up.

"You're too kind, Miss."

I walked to the sink and picked up the tea kettle. As I started pouring water, I suddenly heard Jarvis's voice. "Miss, the Stark Industries delivery men are here."

"Oh, good!" I exclaimed, putting the tea kettle on the stove and heating it up. "Which delivery is this?"

"It appears to be the groceries, Miss."

"Excellent." I whispered. I jogged over to the front door to greet the delivery men. Before any of them could speak, I said, "Okay, follow me. I've labeled everything in the kitchen, so you'll know where to put things." I clapped my hands together. "Now hop to it!"

The delivery men just looked at each other, then back at me.

"Don't give me that look," I said in my best sass voice. "I'm not getting paid to move food."

The first delivery man just shrugged. He then grabbed a couple boxes and the rest followed suit. Once everyone had carried boxes in to the house, I shut the door behind us. By this time, the kettle on the stove was whistling like crazy, so I started to make my cup of tea.

As the men were opening boxes and sorting food, I sipped my tea and said, "If you get sweaty and want to take your shirts off, that'd be fine."

They all paused just a beat and then continued sorting. One of them chuckled softly. At least someone had a sense of humor.

At one point, one man looked at a can of green beans and quietly said to himself, "Where does this go?"

"Gryffindor," I said matter-of-factly, sipping my tea again. "That can of green beans looks very promising."

He looked over angrily. "Look, if you're just going to comment on everything, why don't you just leave us alone so we can get this done quicker?"

After he said this, all the other men stopped and stared at us.

"Because this is _my_ house." I said, staring him down. "Isn't that right, Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss. You are the head of this building."

After hearing Jarvis speak, all the men stopped dead in their tracks and looked around.

"You know what? We're done here, anyway." One of them said, taking the can of green beans from the delivery man I was just talking to and setting the can in one of the cabinets. They all nodded in agreement and quickly left, some of them looking around, still trying to figure out where Jarvis's voice had come from.

After I heard the door slam shut, I started laughing hysterically.

"Oh, Jarvis, I love you!"

"Good to hear, Miss."

I then finished my tea and checked everything to make sure the food was put in its proper places. Now I just needed to go shopping for my own personal things. I didn't ask for it, but my room was equipped with mini fridge… ok, it was a mini-bar. But I fully intended to use for my late night snacking habits.

* * *

It had been 4 days since Elizabeth had moved out, and Theresa was finally back to her old schedule. Her mood was still lackluster, but she had continuously reminded herself that her routine was important. She flipped her over-medium eggs once, the toast popped up demanding to be buttered, and Vlad hissed from his spot near her feet. The only thing that required her attention was Vlad – she could cook on autopilot. Her eyes drifted down to her cat which was glaring at something behind her as she turned the burner onto low and began buttering her toast.

"Do I have another visitor?" she asked only half expecting an answer. Living alone was something she was used to, and sometimes the only voice she heard was her own. All 10 of them.

"Just the same visitor." Loki answered, somewhat amused. He was leaning back against the wall on the other side of the room.

"Good afternoon, Lord Loki. Will you be joining me for breakfast?" Theresa asked as cordially as she could manage. She was still very grumpy considering Loki's presence alone was the deciding factor in Elizabeth's upheaval. Still, being a decent host was something that had been drilled into her early on. It was one of the oldest laws on Earth and to a greater extent, the South. If Loki intended no harm and behaved decently as well, she would do her part and be as gracious as possible.

"I think not." Loki answered, and Theresa could practically _hear_ the smirk in his tone. She said nothing in reply as no reply was necessary. Loki simply watched her back as Theresa slid her eggs upon her plate along with her toast. "Is Miss. Gracious around?" He asked innocently. A little _too_ innocently.

"No." Theresa murmured, moving the empty pan to the dormant back burner. "She isn't likely to be around for quite some time. Tony Stark reacted rather harshly to your appearance here. They've moved her." she announced, her tone souring over the word 'moved'.

"Oh... how sad." Loki cooed. "They took your friend away." The condescension in his tone rubbed Theresa the wrong way. Her tone deepened dangerously.

"Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?" she growled as she turned slowly. "When at _your_ hands did I deserve this scorn?" she continues, her face contorting into a vicious glare. "It is not enough, it is _not enough_, young man, that I did never, _no_, nor _never can_ deserve a sweet look from Demetrius' eye," her voice began to rise and unhinge in fury. "But you must _flout _my _insufficiency_?"

Loki's face became awash with shock, his brow turned up and his eyes widening though only by a fraction. He felt a strange flare of fear at her sudden turn to fury. He'd begun take a step towards her, but had slowly rocked back onto his back foot as her tone worsened. For a moment, he forgot who and what he was and genuinely feared that he'd offended her. But it was only a moment, and it passed leaving the most curious feeling he'd experienced in a long time. He watched as the rage covering her face slowly melted away. She turned and covered her plate with some paper towels before turning back to him. For whatever reason it seemed her mood had shifted again as swiftly as it had before.

"...what was that?" He asked, overwhelmed by curiosity.

"Shakespeare." she replied sounding bored.

"Shake a spear?" he asked. Her eyes widened and she looked back to him startled. She threw her head back and laughed loudly at that, and he found himself chuckling softly in response. "I don't understand..."

She waved him off, her laughter abating to little chuckles. "It's actually a quote from a play." She said. "William Shakespeare is one of the most famous play writes in human history. A lot of kids dislike him because they're forced to read his work. _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ is one of my favorite stories. I was quoting a line from it."

"I .. see." Loki said carefully. "But, why did you feel the need to quote that?"

Theresa shrugged weakly. "It's a habit."

"Quoting Shakespeare?"

"Quoting anything actually." Theresa replied. "Words are easy when I'm writing. They flow on the page but, expressing words orally just... isn't something I do well." She shrugged again. "I tend to look to wiser heads than my own when I have a problem. I went through a lot of reading when I realized expressing myself wasn't something I did well." She went over to the fridge and pulled out some juice, pouring some into a small glass. "I got distracted on a tangent and ended up reading a lot of quotations that just stuck with me. Not to mention that there are things that I tend to remember more clearly than others. When something comes up and I can't really think of what _I_ want to say, my mind just jumps to something I've heard or read and I end up reciting things."

He slowly began to smile at this explanation. "I suppose most of the people who encounter these quotations are quite used to it."

"Oh, they are. They are."

Loki let out a single scoffing chuckle. "Well, you are a surprisingly good actor."

"Thank you." Theresa said, placing the juice back in her fridge. She turned, leaning back against the counter top, juice in hand. She eyed Loki over the rim of her glass as she took a sip. "You want to hear something funny?"

His eyebrows rose. "Certainly." he says, obviously indulging her.

"Humans love stories." She says with a smile. "Even the ones that we know aren't true. Sometimes because they entertain us, and sometimes because they teach us something. There are stories, myths, legends all over the world, and there are archetypes in every mythos across the world that hold." she swallowed, placing her glass gently down on the counter top. "The Norse myths aren't my favorite in general. Hinduism. Hinduism still fascinates me." She shook her head. "But of every culture, Loki has been the only trickster archetype that I've remained fond of." she saw him smirk smugly. "Of every trickster, Loki was always the one with the most individual style, and despite his many shortcomings... in the end, he knew what was worth fighting for."

She noticed his smirk turn downward slightly. "You use the past tense to describe me." He murmured. Her face puckered in momentary confusion.

"I'm not describing you." she said simply. "I'm talking about the Loki of Norse legends." she let that statement sink in. "The Loki of legend is a human story. A fairy tale, perhaps with seeds of truth, but told through human vernacular. Human understanding. And humans don't always understand so well. My Loki ties up loose ends, bends to human needs. There's no telling how much of what I've learned is truth or what's fabricated just to make the story sound good." She eyed him, all the way down to his boots and then up again to his absolutely hypnotizing green eyes. "You are _very_ real." She held his gaze evenly, noting that some of the smugness had reemerged in his expression. "While I find myself devastatingly curious about the truth within the real Loki..." she said before taking a deep breath and heaving it out as a sigh. Something about his eyes was making her feel very light headed. "..again, I defer to wiser heads than my own. The general consensus is that you should never meet your heroes." She said, feeling her own distaste as her tone dulled.

The silence hung in the air, neither of them sure what to say next. Theresa couldn't stand to look at him though. Something about him made her feel insanely guilty and cheated at the same time. She picked up her glass and walked back to her plate. She was beginning to get quite hungry, but it still felt rude to eat in front of a guest.

"You enjoy my visits, don't you?" Loki asked, sounding like he needed a bit of encouragement, though for the life of her Theresa couldn't imagine why.

"I don't usually like surprises…. but, I don't really leave my house… not at all if I can help it." Theresa admitted. "I'm alone here with my cats, and I get very few visitors."

Loki nodded as he considered this. "I may come again." he murmured, his eyes never leaving her.

"I can't imagine why you would… besides, I don't know that I can just allow you to come and go. I...I have to report it or something. " Theresa admitted, conflicted.

Loki smiled, not without some cruelty. "Oh, I'm certain you can manage it. After all, if you report this, it may not be long before Tony Stark and his superiors decide to move _you_ as well." He almost smiled when she tensed up, starting terribly. Her home was her constant. It was where she needed to be; outside was uncertain and cruel and painful. The thought of leaving for something foreign moved her to the point of terror.

"Very well played, my lord." Theresa breathed, trying to calm the rapid fury of her heart.

This time Loki did smile, and though it appeared jovial and friendly Theresa sensed some sinister malice behind it… it was dangerous. "Excellent. Then I will return again some time." He took a few steps towards her, and she eased back away as he did. He left her some room, but she was certainly within his arm's reach. "And, you will say nothing of my visits." The sentence was more of an order really, but the end of it turned up slightly as though he were making it an option by asking a question.

She only nodded, her eyes down turned. He reached out and tapped her chin in hopes of raising her gaze. It resulted in her jerking away from his touch. Her reaction surprised him. He managed to keep his friendly expression, though there was a twinge of tension around the edges of his eyes.

"I like it better when you look me in the eyes." He said softly. Theresa blinked in confusion, not understanding him in the slightest. His entire existence and behavior was unquantifiable. Before she could ask the question that refused to form itself in her mind clearly, he simply smiled and vanished. She looked around her kitchen, as if she expected to find him lurking somewhere in the corners.

Vlad hissed again from his spot lurking underneath the table. Theresa had to wonder if it was Loki Vlad seemed to loathe so much or just Loki's magic.

"That's my good boy." Theresa murmured, leaning down to stroke Vlad's head. He purred back at her, but simply stood there allowing her to love him. The cat was proud but obviously loved her. His behavior she understood… Loki was so much stranger than any cat she'd met.

* * *

Finally. Finally everything was in order. The kitchen was stocked, the rooms were sorted, the internet was up, and all protocols were in place. I knew from surveillance that Mr. Stark was in the top level of the underground bunker. He was briefing the Avengers on this house and who I was, what I would be doing for them. All that jazz. There were several things that required his attention, and I knew from this little pep-talk he'd want to introduce me. I'd much rather that happen on my terms. So, I bounded down the stairs, with an electronic tablet for Mr. Stark to sign. Before rounding the corner to open the door that led to his workshop, I had an idea.

I turned around and tip-toed to the living room and grabbed a step stool. I bustled back down the stairs to Mr. Stark's workshop, electronic tablet in one hand, step stool in the other.

I opened the glass door and everyone in the room stopped talking and turned to me. Mr. Stark was sitting on his workbench, while Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton were sitting in chairs across from him. Thor was idly standing in the middle of the room, Steve Rogers was leaning against one of Mr. Stark's cars, and since Bruce Banner was elsewhere working on something for S.H.E.I.L.D., he was joining the conversation via digital display screen.

"Hello, Miss Gracious, these are-"

"Yes, yes, Mr. Stark." I murmured absently. "Here, you need to sign this."

"Oh ok. What am I reading here? I mean, I'm not just going to sign something. You could be proposing something ridiculous… like no scotch in the house."

"Don't be absurd. I fully expect you to drive me to drink." I responded with a sweet smile. Mr. Stark chuckled at that.

I handed Mr. Stark the electronic tablet and as he became busy with important business, I walked up to Steve Rogers and placed the step stool next to him. I angled the stool so that it looked as though I would be walking up over the hood of the car.

"Do you need help with any-" Steve started.

"No, no, I got this," I waved him off. I stood on the step stool, faced him, and put my hands on his already blushing face.

"Mr. Rogers, Captain, sir. I speak for all of America, when I say..." It was obvious I'd need to act quickly before he got the chance to bolt. While he still had a shocked look on his face, I leaned in, kissing him on the lips as passionately as I could (especially given the lack of mutual participation).

That achievement unlocked, I leaned back away and took a deep breath to steady myself before stepping off the stool. I carefully picked up the stepstool, trying to make sure I wasn't swaying obviously. While walking back to Mr. Stark, I saw that Clint Barton was shaking from stifling his laughter.

I took back the tablet and asked, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Y-yea." he stammered, not moving. He just stared at me in that way he did… as though he were assessing me to reevaluate his opinion of my 'capabilities'.

I opened the glass door and when I turned around to close it, Steve Rogers was blushing as red as a cherry. I exited the glass door, putting an extra sway in my hips as I ascended the stairs. Once I returned to my office I patched into surveillance again to see what would happen. Clint Barton had fallen out of his chair he was laughing so hard, and Natasha Romanoff glaring at him.

"That was unprecedented." Dr. Banner said with a smirk from the computer screen. Thor walked over and slapped Steve between the shoulder blades as if he'd lead some great conquest.

Mr. Stark was shaking his head and smirking at Steve. "You hound." He said to the soldier. Steve, for his part, still looked completely lost.

Clint pointed at the door I'd exited out of. "Swear to God, that girl has a giant pair of brass balls! I think I'm gonna like this house."

I allowed myself a pleased smirk. Considering how nice it was putting my abilities as a technopath to good use for people I genuinely supported, not to mention all the other perks that came with this job… I figured I'd have to agree with Clint… I'd probably really like this house too.

* * *

**And that's all for this edition folks :) Hope you enjoyed. By all means, read & review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Aaaand we're back again :D Chapter 4, y'all! **

**So, we wanna thank your mystery anon reviwer :3 It was nice to hear from you even if we aren't sure who you are! Also, a big thanks to asnanime for putting us on your alert list! **

**And now! On to the story!**

* * *

The monotone click-clack of my keyboard was starting to make me sleepy. I sat back and rested my hands so I could continue writing a report for Mr. Stark. I heard a knock on my office door.

"Come in!" I called.

The door opened to reveal Thor. He stepped in, appearing hesitant and jittery.

"Thor?..." I asked.

"Uh, Miss Gracious? The Man of Iron said that if any of us had questions or problems, we should ask you." Thor said, fidgeting with his hands and looking down.

"What's wrong, Thor?"

"Well," he started, still looking down. "Tis but a few days till the anniversary of the day Jane and I met. And I know Midgardians have rituals for these things..."

"Honey, sit down," I said, gesturing toward a chair on the opposite side of my desk. "What do you need help with?"

"I need to know how to take Jane on a nice date!" Thor practically shouted, slamming his fists on my desk. I silently sat there, grimacing at the forming crack.

"You know, Frigga did not raise you this way. My desk did nothing to you."

Thor looked at the well-developed cracks, then said, "I-I'm sorry. I-"

"Oh, it's okay," I sighed, brightening slightly. The romance was certainly adorable and the fact that the man (if Thor could be called a man) was so eager to please the woman he cared for already had me in his corner. "Well, there's the chivalry, the dining, the not breaking china, and the conversing."

Thor just stared at me.

"Let's just get you started. First, how about we go on a practice date?"

"Not a real date?" Thor asked, as if making sure.

"No, no, this is just to show you what to do." I assured.

Thor thought for a moment, smiled, and then slammed his fists on my desk again. "I shall make my mother proud!"

I flinched and then sighed. "Let's work on properly expressing your enthusiasm first."

* * *

Theresa strained up on her tip toes reaching for a can of asparagus that had slid to the very back of the top shelf in her pantry. She'd left the step-stool upstairs, confident that she could reach on her own…and now… she was regretting it. She sighed as her heels touched to cool wooden floor again. Was it lazy that she didn't want to go back upstairs for the stool? The room suddenly felt colder than it had just a second ago.

"Let me get that for you." She could feel Loki's smooth tone against the back of her neck as a sudden solid presence pressed itself against her back… barely touching, but just close enough to make her skin shiver and her hair stand on end. She froze, her knees locking up in an attempt to keep in place as his words vibrated down her vertebra. His arm reached up just next to hers and she withdrew her arm as if struck. Her arms folded against her chest as though she were folding in on herself. He presented her with the can she'd been ineffectively grasping for. "Is this what you wanted?" He asked softly, his lips nearly brushing against her temple.

Her wide eyes surveyed him as though she were a rabbit staring at a cobra. She gave a jerky nod, meekly extending her hands. He had a tiny smile on his face as he placed the can in her hand.

"T-Thank you." She shuddered, skipping away from him before jogging upstairs. She let out a little sigh when she reached the living room.

"You're welcome." He murmured, suddenly leaning against the wall behind her. She shivered again before whirling to face him. "Are you honestly running from me?" He asked, his brow arching to convey his amusement. "You realize you're limited in the number of places in which you could hide?"

Theresa took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly so that she wouldn't hyperventilate.

"I wasn't going to hide…I just." She shifted backwards until she felt the soft material of her sofa touching her calves. She collapsed back into a heap. "I don't… I don't let people close." His face turned to one of concern.

"I take it you mean physically and not emotionally."

"Both, actually." She confirmed. She looked at him blandly. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you this…but people for the most part are unsavory." She sighed. "They use the kindest words to cover the cruelest intentions." She shook her head. "I've always been able to tell when I was being lied to. I tried to just acknowledge it and keep it to myself, but …after a while it grew worse and worse."

"What grew worse?"

"This 'ability'." She spat the word out, repulsed at the mere mention of it. She sat up straight and looked him squarely in the eyes. "If you truly intend to continue this ritual of becoming a regular presence here, I suppose you should know."

"What should I know?" Loki asked loftily, his tone suggesting that she couldn't possibly surprise him.

"It is impossible to lie to me."

Loki stared at her, curiously. "Explain."

"Have you heard the term 'mutant'?" He nodded but his expression seemed vague. "I'm a mutant…in this day and age, that sort of thing is frowned upon."

"So I've heard. How does this pertain to you?"

"One isn't totally what one has been conditioned to think one is." Theresa murmured. Loki stared at her in confusion. "David Bowie said that."

Loki smiled. "I forget your fondness for quotes."

"Would you prefer to sit?" She asked gesturing to the recliner and rocker on either side of the sofa."

"Answer the question, woman."

"Don't call me 'woman', and I will when I'm good and ready." Loki glowered at her but she only glowered back at him. Finally, he sat down in one of the chairs nearby, but he perched on the edge of it as if he couldn't be bothered to relax. He had to pay attention. "It started simple, like I said. At first it was only that I just _knew_ when someone was telling a lie. But it began to get worse. I actually began to have a physical response when someone lied to me."

"What was that like?" Loki asked, curious again.

"Cold… the repulsive kind, cold and damp. Sometimes I'd feel it deep in my gut, sometimes…" She shrugged. "It was like a chill in my bones. And then it got even worse."

"Worse than a physical response to falsehood?"

She nodded. "I could hear the truth behind the lie." She gave an indignant huff. "Because that's just what I needed to reaffirm my faith in humanity."

Loki let out a soft chuckle. "I don't need any special ability to sense this statement isn't entirely sincere."

"I am well-versed in sarcasm." Theresa replied with a small smile. "I… I uh received a visit from this man. He told me all about his 'school for the gifted'." She rolled her eyes. "He had tests, lots of tests. He said a lot of things I didn't understand and even more that I didn't _want _to understand." She shrugged. "But, based on how soon my abilities developed and how quickly they were developing, he determined that I had the potential to be a very highly developed telepath."

"A psychic then?"

"I am sure that's how it would've progressed if I had remained there." Loki's head twitched, his expression showing surprised curiosity.

"You did not stay." It wasn't a question, more like a request to fully understand her statement.

Theresa closed her eyes, suddenly back in that moment. The moment when she could've made herself powerful, but was too frightened of what she would become under the influence of that power. "No… I couldn't stand the thought of being away from my parents… at that time, they needed me more than I needed anything else."

"And where are your parents now?" Loki asked.

Theresa's eyes opened slowly. "They don't need anything anymore." She said gravely. Loki actually dropped his gaze, staring at his boots for several seconds. "My father was a god." Theresa said, snapping his attention to her again. She smiled. "That's what I thought. He was the embodiment of all human virtues… his only flaw being that he was too joyful. No matter how much brevity settled in his life, he faced every day with the same serene joy." She swallowed hard. "I spent every day that I could in his and my mother's presence… and it will never be enough." She said with a tiny smile. "I knew that early on. I knew what was more important to me… the most important thing to me has always been the ones I care about. So I made my decision."

Loki swallowed somewhat harshly, surprised by how much her honesty had touched him. "I see." She said simply.

"The only good thing that came from that entire ordeal was Elizabeth."

Loki's expression snapped with recognition. "Miss. Gracious? You met here there?"

"In New York, yes. Amazing how things come full circle like that. We talked for ages while I was waiting in the airport … And then we traded e-mails and kept in touch." Theresa smiled, but it dampened slightly as she stared Loki down. "I know it may not mean very much to you.." she began. "but if you were to ever bring her harm, I would never forgive you." She said smoothly.

Loki's jaw clenched in an effort to keep his face serious. Honestly, was she threatening him? That was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. What could she possibly—

"Oh, Loki." Theresa chastised with a smile. "Don't you know a weaker opponent is much worse than a stronger one?" He stared at her unblinkingly. "I will never confront you head on. I will never resort to something you'd expect. If so inclined, I may choose to get creative." And just for a second, she disappeared. The image of her on the couch was simply gone. For a split second he thought he saw her just on the edge of his vision, out of the corner of his eye. His head whipped back and forth, looking for her, and then she reappeared as though she hadn't moved. It was then that he realized …she hadn't. She'd used her ability to make him believe she was gone. He glared at her. "Just so we're clear." She said, standing up and walking over to him. "I'm weaker than you. That doesn't make me weak." She said before walking past him, into the kitchen.

"Duly noted." He said, attempting to reign in his temper. He took a careful breath before turning to face her. "You say you can tell falsehood, yes?"

"I can."

"Then, I'll speak plainly." He strode forward, somewhat amused when she began to withdraw from him again. He didn't stop, didn't give her the safety of distance or the luxury of retreat. When her back was against the wall and he was barely an arm length away, he leaned down closing the space between them. "You've no need to worry for your friend. I mean her no harm. I would like to use her to harm my brother's friends… but still. There's no need for me to harm her." His eyes searched her stormy blue-grey ones. He noticed the tiny sigh of relief filter from her lips.

"That is reassuring." Theresa murmured.

"To a finer point, _you_ have no need to fear me." Loki continued. "It would be pointless to make enemies where there are none. I've no intention of harming you or yours."

Theresa stared back at him blankly before a tiny smile began tugging at the corners of her mouth. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Loki's eyes brightened then sharpened with curiosity. He smiled. "Who said that?"

"…well, technically Bernard of Clairvaux said something like it and people reworded it." She shook her head. "By the way, when I say 'hell', I mean the westernized version of the afterlife for the damned, not …well.. your Hel."

Loki was still smiling. "Noted."

"I.." Theresa's words faltered for a moment. "I've been meaning to ask you about that." She murmured finally.

"About what, exactly?"

"Well…" Theresa folded her arms behind her back, each hand grasping the opposite elbow. "The mythology that I know says that Loki is the father to at least 5 children."

Loki's eyebrows rose in surprise. "My, my… it seems I get around."

Theresa chuckled. "Yes. I was… I was wondering if I could ask you about it." She shrugged. "You can tell me it's not my business, but… I'm very curious about the real Loki."

"Perhaps some other time." Loki said, drawing away from her. When he stood in the middle of the room he continued. "For now, I must away."

"Oh. Of course." Theresa nodded finally standing upright without the support of the wall. "Another time them." He nodded before disappearing in his usual fashion.

* * *

"Thor," I said pleadingly. "Please stop shouting."

I had taken Thor to a nice restaurant near the manor to teach him how to properly behave on a date. Thor didn't understand a few things, so he started throwing a tantrum.

"I just don't understand all this cutlery! Why have so many forks, why so many spoons, and why two knives?" Who needs two knives?"

Now the people near us were staring.

"God of thunder," I whispered to them. "He's new at this."

The people sitting at the tables near us just looked at me as if I were speaking to them in a foreign language. Nevertheless, they turned back to their meals without saying a word. I looked back at Thor as he was seething at the silverware arrangement that flanked his plate.

"One's a butter knife and one's a steak knife," I calmly reminded him.

Thor put his head in his hands and groaned. I sighed and started straightening up the table. We had a lot of work to do.

"Thor." I began leaning over the table as Thor looked through his hands at me. "Forget about the forks and knives." I smiled as sympathetically as possible. "All that matters is that you both have fun."

His hands came down to rest on the arm rests of his chair as he sighed. "I want Jane to understand how much I appreciate her." He said forlornly.

"I'm sure she will." I placated. "Let me go ahead and point out the obvious for you, since you seem to be missing it." Now I had his full attention. "You're going to be sending her roses with a note telling her how much you're looking forward to your dinner that night. You're going to arrive in a limo, wearing a tux to escort her to a lovely dinner." I smiled. "But more importantly, you treat her like a princess every chance that you get. Ultimately, that's what's important. Because doing this once a year isn't enough to make a girl truly feel special. It just helps a lot."

Thor had a tiny smile on his face. "Thank you." He sighed in relief. "I needed to hear that."

I nodded. "Now. Let's get this straight. Ultimately, you just want to make sure that both of you have a very nice time together. So, use your salad fork on your steak." I shrugged, rolling my eyes. "Most people can't tell the difference anyway, so it's not a big deal if you can't. Also, it's really easy to tell the difference between a butter knife and a steak knife, because one of them can't cut anything, much less steak."

"Ah… I see." He said examining the silverware.

"Not that it really matters. In most cases, as long as you play it off and pretend you actually know what you're doing, everyone else will believe it and go right along with you. Got it?"

He nodded.

"Good. Now, let's move on to the menu." I sighed as I surveyed it. "I'm not going to lie to you, Thor… this is where things are really going to get tough." His face went slack and I had to chuckle. "I'm messing with you, man. This is relatively easy. What do you like to eat?"

He shook his head. "Boar and pheasant.. and steak and chicken, and—"

"Well that's good. That means you aren't a picky eater." I said with a smile. I stood up and scooted my chair closer to his so that I could point things out on the menu. "See everything here is divided into sections, right?" I asked, holding up the menu. He was paying rapt attention to it as I was talking, which was a good thing. It meant he might learn this quickly. "Your appetizers are what you start with, and they're all here. Your main courses are all in the center of the menu, divided by what type of dish they are; cow, pig, chicken, sea food, vegetable, low fat, etc." I announced, pointing to each section. "The back of the menu is their basic drinks and desert options. Most of these fancy places have recommended wines to drink with your meal, but they'll always ask if there's anything you want to start with. Personally, I'd choose a water and an appetizer to start, just because you strike me as the type of guy that can put a lot of food away and you don't want to get sloshed too early."

Thor scoffed. "I assure you I'm as capable at holding my drink as I am consuming good food."

"True, but what about Jane?" I smile. "You're supposed to be having a good time with her. That means that she needs to have a good time too. She'd probably enjoy herself more if both of you were completely coherent for the entire evening."

Thor nodded. "I see the logic in it."

"Good. Now, as for picking what item you want, that's nothing to worry over either. Let's say you decide you're in the mood for pork that night. You go to the section on pork, which is here.." I pointed the section out and he nodded as he looked at it. "Each meal has the name of the meal in bold and then a description of how the meal is prepared and what is in it beneath it, see?"

"Yes. Yes, I see." He said nodding.

"Good." I stood again and moved my chair back to the other side of the table. "Now. What would you like to eat?"

Thor eyed the menu momentarily before saying, "These.. Pork Chops Flor… how does one pronounce this?"

"Florentine?"

"Florentine?" Thor repeated, and I nodded that he had the pronunciation right. "Yes. Pork Chops Florentine. That appears quite appetizing."

"Alright. Now that you've decided on what you want to eat, you have to tell your waiter." I leaned in over the table again, whispering as if I were giving him secret information. "What you want to do is look for the waiter. He should be looking at you to see if you need anything. Once you catch his eye, nod at him."

Thor looked around and spotted the waiter he was looking for, nodding for the man to come over.

Elizabeth smiled. "You know… I think you're going to do just fine." She announced as the waiter hurried over to them.

* * *

**...oh dear. Looks like that's all for now :D R&R We're 89.7% dependent upon feedback :3**


	5. Chapter 5

**We're back for another chapter!**

**Thanks to Kiwifruit for giving us a review! As for your question, no… we don't really have a schedule, so much as we know what we want to write and try to actually write it. Sometimes scenes come to us ahead of schedule and we shift focus to that, because you can't really dictate to a muse. We wish we could commit to a schedule, but one of us has a busy job and the other one is looking for a job (which is just as much of a job with none of the pay :| ). Soooo yeah.**

**But enough of that drabble. On to the story! …and we've got a nice one for you this time, kids :3**

* * *

I woke up in a bad mood, which I hated doing. I'd had a terrible dream the night before. One of those dreams that you couldn't explain to anyone because it was so farfetched. The type of dream that even the person who had the dream couldn't make sense of it.

I groggily sat up and looked over at my clock and noticed I had a meeting with the Avengers in 5 minutes.

Not wanting to get dressed, I said to myself, "You know what? Screw it. I'm the head of the manor, and I don't have to get dressed."

What was Mr. Stark going to do, fire me for going to a meeting in my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pajamas?

I didn't even check myself in the mirror. Instead, I just slipped into my black slippers and bound down the stairs. I started mumbling under my breath about how I haven't even had my cup of tea for the morning.

As I walked into the living room, Clint was the first to notice me.

"Dude! I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! They're my heroes!" I had to smirk at that. Suddenly my mood was a tad bit lighter. With that, Natasha elbowed Clint while eyeing me. Everyone else was now staring at me.

"So what are we doing?" I asked, still standing in front of everyone.

"Well, you should probably get dressed first while we're waiting on Tony." Natasha said, looking away.

I shrugged and walked toward the kitchen to make my morning tea.

"New rule," I said. "We're going to have casual Fridays."

I waited for everyone's response. When no one said anything, I turned to the kitchen.

"Also," I continued, still walking away. "I'm not going to do anything until I have my tea."

From the kitchen, I could hear Bruce say, "We're going to see more of this from her, aren't we?"

While I reached for the sugar, I heard the front door open.

"Hello, everyone!" Mr. Stark began. "I see Miss. Elizabeth hasn't made it in yet." I heard Mr. Stark say.

"Actually, she's in the kitchen," Steve said meekly, as if he knew something bad was going to happen.

There was a pause, and as I put the sugar away, I heard Mr. Stark sit down and started going through papers.

"Miss Elizabeth, would you like to join us?" Mr. Stark called from the living room.

I finished making my tea and sauntered over in to the living room. As soon as Mr. Stark looked up, he stopped shuffling through his papers.

"Miss Elizabeth...?"

"New rule." Clint chimed in.

"New rule." I agreed. "I am the head of this household and I've decided to start up casual Fridays."

"Right." Mr. Stark started. He gave me a I-will-deal-with-you-later look, but otherwise looked unfazed.

"I'm wearing my American Flag boxers next week!" Steve cheered, and I couldn't help but chuckle softly at that.

Mr. Stark blinked, shaking his head. "Looking forward to seeing that." He muttered sarcastically. "First off, has everyone settled in?"

I looked around as everyone nodded, indicating they had indeed made themselves comfortable.

"We all know Elizabeth has." Natasha remarked, crossing her arms and eying my pajamas.

I knew Natasha was trying to be snarky, but I went along with it and said, "Why shouldn't I make myself at home? This is my permanent home now; I shouldn't have to keep appearances with you lot. And besides," I looked at my watch. "It's not time for me to start working yet."

Natasha rolled her eyes.

Mr. Stark cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. "Well," Mr. Stark began again. "You should get used to this. We're going to be having these Friday morning meetings weekly until I'm certain that Avenger House is up and running as it should be."

"Will you be arriving fashionably late for those meetings too?" I asked with a deceptively kind smile.

"If I so choose."

"Could you bring doughnuts next time?" I asked batting my eyelashes.

"I like that idea!" Clint crowed, pointing at me.

Mr. Stark chuckled. "I could be persuaded." He said.

"What are we going to be doing at these meetings, anyway?" Steve asked.

"Well, this and that." Mr. Stark said with a shrug. As I understood it, he really wasn't sure what all would ensue at these meetings. Still, he obviously understood the need for us all to check in. "Firstly, it's just for us to check in and tell each other what we may or may not need. Areas that need improvement, where the budgets going, where we think it should be going, etc. Essentially, anything that you feel needs to be brought to attention, it gets brought up here." he said before looking straight at me. "Speaking of which, I want to address is the budget. Where is my money going?"

It occurred to me that this may very well be an attempt of Mr. Stark's to test me. Asking me for numbers from the budget without warning me that I'd need the paperwork for those figures. Luckily, he didn't count on my mental ability to tap into the systems that I'd already made to keep track of the budget.

"Well," I said, leaning forward. "So far, I've furnished the house, buying everything you can see on these living quarters and upper levels; this includes food. I set the baseline budget at $50,000 to work with and I only spent $48,000. Well.. $48,065 to be exact."

"Wait," Mr. Stark interrupted. "Where did the random $65 come from?"

I looked around the room, slightly uncomfortable for once. "I took Thor on a date." I mumbled, looking down.

Steve looked at me, awkwardly. I looked over at Mr. Stark, not knowing what to say. Mr. Stark looked over at Bruce. Bruce shrugged and looked over at Clint. Clint grinned, obviously not bothered. He looked over at Natasha and she was glaring at me, not that it mattered. She hadn't stopped glaring at me from the moment I'd walked in.

Everyone, including me, looked at Thor.

"It was a practice date!" He bellowed in defense. "I needed lessons for a real date with Jane." He looked slightly timid. "It will soon be our anniversary."

"The big bad god of thunder needs help going out with a girl." Clint said, mockingly.

Thor, standing behind him, looked like he was about to strangle Clint. Steve jumped up and forced himself between the two to try and keep Thor back.

"Thor came to me with the concern." I said in an attempt to defuse the situation. "I considered it a necessary expense." I looked coolly over at Mr. Stark. "Besides, you're good for it."

Mr. Stark smirked. "Anything to keep love alive." He said with a chuckle. I had to wonder if he was saying this ironically after his failed relationship with Miss. Potts.

"Are there any further issues that need discussing?" Natasha asked.

"I'd like a bit more input on meals." I said reasonably. "I understand that most of you scavenge and graze for whatever you'd want during the day, but I'd like to know if anyone wants to cook or if you'd prefer to allot more days for catering to be delivered for dinner."

"I have something against cooking on days that end in Y." Clint announced with mock severity.

"Very well said." Mr. Stark said with a nod.

"I am not averse to preparing an evening meal from time to time." Thor announced.

"If you tell Jane that, she will love you forever." I told him and he blushed with a bashful smile.

"It's very difficult to plan ahead for the days when we'll be called out." Bruce reminded.

I nodded. "Alright. In the event that you are called out, I'll put in an emergency call to the caterers, and have dinner delivered. Protocol set. That's one less thing to worry about."

"You'll keep everything warm for us?" Clint asked with a smirk.

"I can manage the hell out of that." I replied with severity, but ruined it by smiling.

"Okay, all this food talk is making me hungry." said Mr. Stark, rubbing his eyes. "Can we call this a day? I wanna go out for Shawarma."

"Well, what else did you want to discuss?" I asked. He looked around uncertainly. "Are there any other issues?" Everyone seemed to look around at each other. "Nothing?" I was met with blank looks and shrugs. "Okay then. Class dismissed. My boss needs shawarma." Mr. Stark chuckled at that. "Shall I have Jarvis call your favorite place and place an order?" I asked cordially.

Mr. Stark eyed me carefully. "Why do you seem more… professional?" he asked.

I tipped my empty tea mug. "It's the power of English breakfast tea." I said. "I feel more like myself now."

Mr. Stark pointed towards the mug in my hands. "Keep that tea in stock."

"I have every intention of doing so, Sir. Jarvis, make a note to keep that tea in stock." I said with a smile as I rose and ready to start my work day.

"Duly noted, Miss."

* * *

Theresa hummed as _Fly on the Wall_ began to play from her player. Right now, her iPod was set to play songs randomly while she went about cleaning. Currently, she was taking clean, warm laundry from the dryer and placing it in a basket so that she could bring it into the living room and fold things properly. She hefted the laundry basket over her head, and bopped to the music, letting her hips sway exuberantly and singing her heart out as she swayed her way into the kitchen.

"We had a plan to build a wall, a great divide that would never fall. To separate us from all the pain, and keep our skeletons locked away."

She twirled on the balls of her feet, catching a stray glass that had been left on the table and placing it near the sink.

"And brick by brick, we built it so thick that it blocked out the sky and all the sunlight… And one by one we all became numb! We were making the bullets to a broken gun!"

As she turned back to face the living room she found a smirking Loki standing there, staring at her, obviously amused. "Oh, don't stop on my account." He assured her.

She stared him for all of 3 seconds before shrugging. "A'right!" she conceded and continued to dance about with the hamper basket on her head. "I wanna live, I wanna be the change. We can all be Kings and Queens! We can just learn to believe… if we can just learn to believe!" She sashayed into the living room, looking about the tables there to see if any stray dishes were left behind. There was nothing… of course, she was living alone again, so upkeep wasn't half as bad. Not that it had been bad with Elizabeth around.

The music began to peter out, so she dumped the clothes onto the sofa. "Babies! Laundry's here." She really didn't have to wait long. River dashed across the room from her spot under the table and dove headlong into the pile of warm sheets.

"What exactly is it that you're doing?" Loki asked cocking his head to the side as he studied her.

"A human custom. Well, for those of us clever enough to engage in it." She smiled. "I'm uncertain how matters are handled on Asgard, but here we have chores."

"Ah. Yes. We have chores, though most menial labors fall to the servants."

"Well, here it is a common custom to turn tedious affairs into a bit of a game or celebration."

"..for what purpose?"

"Because if something's fun we're more apt to do it." She said with a smirk.

His brow rose and he nodded. "Yes. I suppose that _is_ true."

She smiled. "My game involves putting my player on random and dancing while I work. I try to remember all the words to the songs even though I haven't listened to some of them in years."

"Why do you keep the songs if you don't listen to them that often?"

"Nostalgia… and because they don't go out of style, I just forget to listen to them." She replied with a smile. "When I was a girl, the first CDs I ever owned were soundtracks to Disney movies. I still love them, even if I loathe Disney for giving me such unrealistic expectations." Theresa rose, hefting the laundry basket over her head and sashaying back to the laundry room. She left the basket near the drier and began moving the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Loki said, wandering into the kitchen. He still kept his distance so that she could exit the laundry room whenever she needed to, but he could still observe her. "How did this 'Disney' give you unrealistic expectations?"

Theresa smiled. "Disney's a famous movie company. They're really well known for children's movies and family friendly films." She began to explain. "Disney went through a 'renaissance' period in which they revamped a bunch of old fashioned fairy tales. And by revamped, I mean lied profusely." Theresa shook her head. "They made it seem like every girl is a princess and if she waits long enough a prince will come along and he'll complete her and make her life wonderful." She rolled her eyes.

Loki scoffed. "What a lovely dream." He said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Right?" Theresa's eyes widened humorously. She laughed, shaking her head. "Luckily, I realized very early on that there were no princes on white horses that would appear and love me on first sight. I was really lucky, though… My parents were great in teaching me about what love was." She announced, leaving the dryer to do its work. She returned to the living room, using the remote for her player to turn the music down. "Still… a part of me enjoys the music because it's _so_ idealistic." She made a face, her mouth screwing sideways. "I guess part of me wishes the world _could_ be that pure, even though I know it'll never be." She said with a shrug. "Either way, the music does help to pass the time."

"Yes." Loki muttered. "Time is an inconstant task master."

"Relativity." Theresa responded.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Einstein's theory of relativity. You put your hands on a hot woman, and a whole hour will seem like a second. Put your hands on a hot pan, and a second will seem like an hour. It's all relative."

He studied her, slightly confused and somewhat amused. "…Quite." He finally responded with a smirk. "And your Einstein was the first to say this?"

"Yea.. well, no." She said with a chuckle. "Einstein developed and established the theory of Relativity. Those words are his theory summed up by L.L. Cool J." She clarified. Loki nodded with a mildly amused expression on his face, as though he fully understood her words and every aspect of how she'd explained it. He watched as she began folding sheets and pillow cases. "Did you never have to perform such chores?"

"Never these chores specifically."

"But there were others?"

"Only when I couldn't trick others into doing them for me." He said with a chuckled before quickly schooling his expression. "No. The All Father didn't allow that injustice to continue for long." He continued in a tone that tasted more like sour grapes.

"You speak of Odin in a particularly unsavory fashion. What grievance do you have against him?" Theresa asked genuinely interested.

Loki let himself scoff. "I seriously doubt you'd understand."

"Certainly, I won't. Especially if you don't tell me about it." She replied with a bit of her own sass. "Sit." She said, motioning to the plush leather recliner to her right. It had certainly seen better days, especially with 2 cats in the house. Still, it was partially facing her.

Loki regarded her carefully before sitting. Loki found it interesting that she didn't seem colored one way or the other about his opinion. No idealistic view of the All Father, no assumptions that he was the father of all evil. This could go either way… He decided to leave certain things out of his story… But he told her. He told her of Thor's coronation…the Frost Giants, sneaking to Jötunheim…the discovery of his parentage and Thor's banishment. For some odd reason, the truth flowed out of him without him even meaning for it too. He didn't know if he simply _needed_ to tell his side of this story, or if it was just how easy it was to talk to her. At the end of it, she had stopped folding things, her eyes on the far wall behind him, a puzzled expression on her face. It reminded Loki of Heimdall's expression when his gaze was worlds away…perhaps she was worlds away.

"That doesn't make sense, Loki." She murmured, and he felt his chest constrict. Why had he given her the truth so readily? It was obviously a mistake. "Odin himself has been a wielder of great magic, a killer, a world breaker, a thief and a liar…" She continued, her eyes snapping to him. Her expression was concerned and sympathetic. "..how could he condemn you for your behavior when it's been so similar to his own?"

Quiet gasps tore themselves from Loki's throat as relief spread through him like a drug.

"Are you alright?" She asked in concern, rising just slightly. He held up a hand.

"I thought…" He took a deep breath in hopes of settling himself. "No one acknowledges that. No one understands. They think I'm mad."

"Why?"

"The deception, the lies, the double betrayals, the attempt to destroy Jötunheim." He listed.

"You mean because you're crazy like a fox, they think you're crazy?" Theresa said with a small smile. "Loki.." She said gently. "You may very well be crazy, but certainly not for the behavior you told me about. There's clear rational, and a definite method behind that madness." Loki sighed heavily, relief and shock blossoming in him. "Of course you allowed the Jötuns into the vault, you knew they'd never succeed."

"Exactly!"

"And you had to stop Thor's coronation because he _wasn't ready_." She continued. "It wasn't like anyone was listening when you tried to tell them Thor was so woefully inept to take Odin's place for any length of time. So you made it more than obvious by goading him into marching into Jötunheim. Odin couldn't ignore conduct like that any longer." He stared at her in wonder. It was amazing how she could understand so easily. "You certainly didn't expect to have a crisis of self-realization not to mention one so staggering, and _then_ when you needed answers and support, Odin falls into the Odinsleep and everything is on your head." Her expression was so aghast, as if imagining it alone was too much for her to comprehend. She was right. It was staggering. "But, Loki… you had to know that killing Thor wasn't the answer."

"I…" the lie, the justification was on the tip of his tongue, but he hesitated. She reached out, resting her hand on his knuckles. Would this woman ever cease to surprise him?

"I understand why you felt that you had to." She comforted. "You were going to be a better King than he ever could be. You were going to avert war, destroy your father's enemies utterly, and your so-called friends proved their metal by going straight to big brother." She smiled softly. "But you realize that you did shoot yourself in the foot there?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Well… if you hadn't sent the destroyer, Thor may have never made that noble sacrifice and never returned to power. Or at least not in time to stop you."

Loki sighed and nodded. He had played that scenario over and over again in his head. That one split-second decision made in panic was the only one he truly regretted… for various reasons. Perhaps the warriors would have returned Thor to Asgard, but he probably would've been human… hardly a match for the new King of the Nine realms.

"I also understand the reasoning behind killing Laufey and your attack on Jötunheim, but… hindsight is perfect. You have to realize that Odin didn't _want_ that any more than he wanted Thor's death."

Loki groaned, messaging his forehead with his free hand while he leaned on his other elbow. "Yes. If the All Father wanted them all destroyed, he would've done it himself."

Theresa stared at Loki hard, before saying as gently as possible. "You shouldn't have let go."

He thought for a moment to answer her with a question, or to ignore her even. "They would not have understood, and I was _not_ sorry." He maintained. He wasn't. He may have been sorry for certain results, but he did not regret his actions.

"Thor wouldn't have understood… but Odin very well may have."

Loki glared at her. "It isn't as if Odin ever truly loved me as his own."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Theresa drew away like the lash of a whip. Her shoulders snapped back, her spine arching, her fingers digging into her scalp as she hissed in discomfort. She glowered at him after it passed.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't lie to me so blatantly."

"It _is_ true." Loki growled and another shudder passed through her.

"Loki, let's get something straight." She said firmly. "Perception isn't equal to the truth. That doesn't change just because you're from Asgard."

He did growl this time, shooting to his feet as he lorded over her. "Do not presume that you are in any position to advise me, human." He ground out.

He was surprised when she shot to her feet as well, glaring up at him. "If I'm good enough to listen and console you, then I'm good enough to correct you." She countered.

"You worthless little—" His words cut off sharply when she slapped him right across the face. He stared at the wall in shock at first before his baleful green gaze turned on her.

"Frigga did _not_ raise you this way." Said firmly, with just a hint of disappointment.

His eyes widened and he froze, completely astounded. There was a truth he could never run away from… Looking into her angry, disappointed face made him question…

Loki Liesmith vanished in a blaze of green fire and black smoke, and the mortal woman who he'd been _so_ ready to crucify stood unflinchingly still. He absently wondered how she could be so self-assured and confident, but he was too preoccupied with her words to fully consider her behavior.

* * *

I waited with anticipation outside Thor's bedroom. After a few minutes, he finally emerged, head to toe in the latest men's fashion.

"Well?" He asked, extending his arms so I could get a better look.

"You look like a prince." I gushed.

"Is that what I am supposed to look like?" Thor asked.

I giggled. "You're just supposed to look pretty, that's all."

Thor put his arms down and sighed. "I must confess something to you, Elizabeth."

"What's wrong, Thor?"

"What if I cannot do this? This is the most nervous I have ever been. What if I do something to upset her? What if she never speaks to me again? I need to cancel-"

"Thor!" I shouted, trying to settle him down from his episode. I found it surprising that this bulky man let me calm him down. "Thor," I said more calmly. "Thor, look at me."

I pulled myself up and balanced myself on my toes and put my hands on Thor's face so he could look at me.

"All you need to do is show up and pay attention to her, like we talked about. Just tell her that this is your first date and you're nervous, she'll understand."

Thor smiled.

"Thank you, Elizabeth." he said, now reassured.

Still holding his face in my hands, I smiled back and said, "Now do your ancestors proud."

* * *

Theresa felt _so_ melancholy as she watched the sun light fading through her windows. The weather was fairly temperate outside. She couldn't remember the last time she'd sat outside on her porch. She may have relocated to the north, but she was still a southern girl at heart. Her home came with a very lovely back patio, with rocking chairs and a swing suspended from a magnificent nearby oak tree. Her property was fairly small in comparison to her other homes (just 1 acre), and there wasn't much except a few trees and the soft turf between her home and the tall stone wall that wrapped around her property. She valued her privacy, and her neighbors knew that by the virtual fortress she'd encased herself in. She thought of the lonely swing, suspended from the long branch of the oak just on the edge of her porch… she might as well enjoy the sunset and the cool of the evening air.

She poured herself a large glass of ice tea and headed out the front door. The swing looked just as inviting as it always did, even if there was no one who'd sit with her. She was out there for 15 minutes before anything changed. She heard the sound of his boots on the patio stone. When she looked his way, he paused. She felt all the anger from before die away. He seemed so uncertain; it was very difficult to even be irritated with him.

"Come and sit with me." She said with a soft smile as she patted the empty side of the swing. He hesitated, but walked closer to inspect the seat he was offered. He stared down at the empty space before carefully seating himself on the unsteady seat. He would tense up now and then when the swing would shift suddenly. But eventually he relaxed beside her and watched the sun as it set.

"Frigga." He began after twilight had settled around them. "There was a moment…when Odin had fallen into the Odinsleep and we both knew… we both knew that we both knew the truth." He swallowed hard before pressing on. "I was given Odin's staff… Thor was banished, so the burden of the throne fell to me. That wasn't my ultimate goal, not at all. I hadn't counted on the Odinsleep or.." He took a steadying breath to interrupt his own hurried explanation. When his eyes skittered to Theresa, she smiled and nodded her understanding. "She.. My mother looked at me with such quiet pride…" He let out a soft breathy laugh. "..As though it was _her_ honor to call _me_ King… As if she knew that I would do everything properly." He shook his head. "I wanted nothing more than…" His eyes landed on his boots, his expression downhearted. "The last thing I ever wanted was to disappoint her."

Theresa contemplated that before pushing the swing back and letting it swing forward. Loki started a bit, reaching up with one hand to grab the chain the swing was suspended from.

"Frigga still loves you." Theresa said staring straight ahead. Loki studied her waiting for some response which would single the presence of a lie. "Odin and Thor love you as well." Loki's brow came down, his expression hurt and questioning. "Maybe they were crap at appreciating you, but they love you enough that they'd probably still be willing to meet you half way." She stopped speaking to the empty air in front of her and looked over at him. "Maybe that hurts worse.." she murmured. "But, in the end, that is what counts."

"How could you possibly know.."

"Well… I _am_ psychic." She reminded with a tiny smile. He chuckled softly at that. "Your brother… is he still pleading for reconciliation?"

"Yes." Loki sighed. "Even as we returned, when I left him with one of my shadows, he was begging me to resolve our issues." He gave her a little glare, though it held little heat it made up for it in stubbornness. "I hope you are not suggesting that I should—"

"Not yet." Theresa amended. "If you were to show up out of the blue and agree to work towards that goal… It wouldn't be believable in the slightest. But the seeds of hope remain in his heart, Loki." She shrugged. "If I were you, I would cultivate that."

Loki considered that carefully before asking. "How so?"

She shrugged again. "Humans like to believe that things are simple… but the truth resists simplicity… and it's stranger than fiction." She smiled. "The truth is that despite the fact that you and your family all wish for a solid reconciliation, they're now very aware of what you're capable of as well as how deficient they were in estimating your abilities…. Either way you look at it, a mere apology will not suffice. From either side." Loki nodded at that. "Humans like to see things in black and white. There's good and there's evil and they are absolute." She smiled. "Once again, the truth resists such simplicity. Good and Evil aren't absolutes. If they were, there would be no point in our choices or free will." She met his eyes. "Every choice you make takes you closer to that absolute… but it doesn't _make_ you that absolute, because no matter what there is always a choice." He nodded again, still following her line of thinking. "Unfortunately good and bad are defined by people. People, can you believe it? People, who are emotional and inconstant. Honestly, people can be persuaded to believe that anything is good or bad. Otherwise we wouldn't enjoy stories in which we admire rogues and loathe kings." Loki chuckled at that. "The thing about choices is that they _do _define you, but if you appear to question your choices… then things become slightly blurred."

"I don't understand." Loki responded.

"Decisive choices take you closer to one side or the other, but if you begin to question your choices, then the 'good guys' will begin to think you're coming out of your 'madness'." Loki blinked at that. "Think about it. If you do something or behave in a way that suggests you aren't certain you're justified in doing something, it suggests that you no longer know if you _are_ justified. If you no longer believe you're justified, then your concept of right and wrong are realigning. Because, ultimately, your actions are evil but you believe that they're justified actions."

"And if I question my actions my brother will believe that my morality is reasserting itself… That I am questioning my methods…" Loki murmured.

"Exactly." Theresa murmured. "It could be something relatively small. Let's say you cause some sort of catastrophe – all with the hope of gaining something else, of course (because Loki doesn't just attack you, he distracts you and takes what he wants while you're not looking) – and you see a foe creeping up behind your brother and just let loose some sort of attack that protects Thor. Then, you 'realize' what you've just done and it shocks even you, because let's face it, you've been trying to kick his ass for a long time now." Loki was nodding while staring at the stone work that lined her house, visualizing everything she was saying it. "You retreat in confusion, still having gained whatever it was you were after, but defend your actions saying 'it was just a reflex, not a conscious decision at all'." She shrugged her expression incredulous. "This isn't much of a good argument because you've just said that protecting Thor is something you're used to doing by reflex even when you're trying to beat him."

"Yes… yes that would… that would certainly make him think before simply attacking."

"Right. Also, you may want to try addressing him as 'brother' without contempt, and then realize that you've just called him brother when you keep denying that you are his brother."

He eyed her speculatively. "Why would you tell me all this?"

She sighed. "Honestly, I _do_ want you to reconcile with your family, Loki. There's nothing worse than a family that wants to be whole, but refuses to on principle. I mean, really, I understand that you've been hurt by them and they need to apologize as much as you do. But the pride and principles of all that should be secondary to the fact that you do all care for each other." She met his eyes, taken once again by how deep they were. His gaze was so intense that she couldn't stand to stare at him for too long. She had to look away. "But, I still think you should reconcile with them on _your_ terms, in your own way."

He nodded slowly. ".. you think very much like a mad genius." He observed with a small smile.

"Well, when the world gets bad enough the good go crazy, but the smart…" she looked back at him with a small smirk of her own. "…they go bad."

His head turned just slightly as his smile widened making his eyes twinkle. "Who said that?"

"Abed Nadir… Well, Evil Abed and Abed Nadir." She said with a nod, as if she were reaffirming it in her own mind.

He chuckled softly. Both of them seemed content to stare off at the skyline in thought.

"It will never be as it was." He said after some time.

She looked back at him and nodded. "No. No it won't." She affirmed. "But there's room for improvement." He glanced over at her. "One could hope that this will have taught them to treat you better… That the words 'different' and 'deficient' are not synonymous." She met his gaze squarely. "You brought two worlds to their knees, Loki." She reminded. "How could anyone call you weak now?" she smiled softly. "Your strengths are different from theirs, but it doesn't mean you are not strong." For the first time, Loki was the one who looked away. Theresa felt just a touch of smugness when she realized there was a hint of pink in his cheeks. The man was a sponge, soaking up her praise with equal parts greed and shock.

"I'm weaker than you. That doesn't make me weak" He said, and it took her a moment to realize that he was repeating what she had said to him days ago.

Theresa smiled. "Cheers." She said before admiring the first few stars that were emerging through the darkened night sky.

For a moment it seemed Loki was content with the quiet, but then he turned and studied her profile. "What are you thinking?" He asked softly.

She sighed softly, her eyes squinting as the light truly began to fade. "I'm thinking… that I want to rewatch Jurassic Park." She turned and looked at him, his expression spun into bewilderment. "Want to watch Jurassic Park with me?" she asked with a growing smile. He blinked, but before he could answer she rose and tugged at his hand in both of her's. "Come on. It'll be fun. We can eat popcorn and watch people get eaten!"

He chuckled softly and gave her an uncertain smile. "With a proposal like that, how can I refuse?"

* * *

**Soooo! ...nothing bad can happen from Loki watching Jurassic Park, right? ... o..o we'll, uh, see you guys later. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 in the hoooouse :3**

**Much love to dreamerxofxroses, CreativeChica39, and deana . hughes2010 for following/favoriting our story :3 you guys burden us with glorious feels.**

**This chapter is... interesting. I'm not saying that nothing happens here, but it's very singularly focused. Also, it's one of the rare chapters in which you don't switch between places. It was very cool to experiment with how it'd be presented :) Please do enjoy...**

* * *

Week 2 at Avengers HQ. I'd been getting steadily more and more depressed, but work had been so hectic I couldn't really do much else except.. well, work. One new development was amusing. Mr. Stark was watching me. I'd realized it early this morning when he suspiciously kept walking down the hall in the underground bunker to the monitors with all the surveillance for the house. I hadn't really minded while I was working, but it was after 5 and I was done working for the day. Oddly enough, what caught my attention was when Steve walked in the room as well. Jarvis's speakers/microphones were in every single room including the bunker. This was so that Jarvis could hear and respond to commands. It was lucky for me, because it meant I could hear everything going on in that room.

"Are you sure you should do this? It _is _a violation of civil—" Steve started.

"It's fine." Mr. Stark said, cutting him off in an annoyed tone. "I gave her my money and made her head of this household; I'm just making sure she doesn't do anything stupid." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Besides...she's got a nice ass."

I almost smirked at that, but I was afraid that would tip them off. I was glad I'd left my heels on, since they were helping my ass to sway more. I meandered down the hall, stretching my legs as I made my way to the kitchen. I smirked when I hit the barrier between kitchen/dining room and hallway. It was clearly marked because the carpet ended and wood flooring began. I smirked, toed off my shoes, and launched myself forward, giggling as I slid neatly to the stove. I checked a few things in the fridge before finding an enormous pot. I turned up the heat on the stove and put water in the pot.

"Uh.." I heard Steve mumbling. "Is she..."

Mr. Stark's chin rose before lowering heavily. "She is cooking." He confirmed, and for all intents and purposes, he looked amazed. There was a heavy beat of silence between them before Steve worked up the nerve to ask his next question.

"Does she know how to cook?" He asked timidly. Mr. Stark made a bewildered face and shrugged.

"Didn't check her resume for that." He said simply.

After I fished out more ingredients and spices, I added chicken stock into the pot. I hadn't counted on how big the pot was to what I was used to cooking in at Theresa's. I ended up having to add more water.

"Jarvis, do you have Renegade by Styx?" I asked. "I'm in the mood for something funky."

"Yes, Miss."

I smiled. "Play it for me would you? Just here in the kitchen." As the music started playing I smiled and swayed, bopping around in front of the stove as I lip-synced the words.

"I think I actually respect her more." I heard Mr. Stark say with a grin on his face. Even with all my shimmying and shaking, this was going to be a boring show with just me alone. I eyed my cell phone which was face down on the counter top. With my mind, I texted Theresa. I told her to call me and that I was being watched. This would be much more amusing if it was a 2 woman show. We would definitely give them something to watch. I pretended to look surprised when my cell rang. My look shifted to thrilled as I eyed the caller ID screen. "Jarvis, honey, could you decrease that music to 15%, please?"

"Yes, Miss."

"Thanks!" I cheered and put Theresa on speaker phone.

"Hey, yo, what up, girl?" I asked in my sassiest tone, putting the phone back on the counter so I could move my hands freely.

"Giiiiiirl! I miss you!" Theresa said, mimicking my tone. I smiled. "Oh, by the way, you know that Captain America you live with?" Theresa continued. I had no idea where this was going, but I was totally down for the ride.

"Yeah, girl, I know him." I replied, still keeping the sass in my tone.

"He didn't like my status!"

I feigned a horrific gasp and said. "Oh, girl, that just ain't right. He's usually such a nice guy." It was really hard to keep myself from laughing, because Mr. Stark had burst out laughing while Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"How is it living with a living legend anyway?" She asked her tone returning to normal.

"I don't know, we're not exactly on good terms." I replied. "I don't think he likes me much at all, actually." I admitted, feeling pretty down about the whole thing. Steve had been treating me like I was a piece of furniture... or like I had the plague. I wasn't sure what triggered the switch between the two.

Downstairs, Clint poked his head in the surveillance room. "Hey, what are you two making such a ruckus about?" He asked, and Mr. Stark motioned to the big monitor that he was watching me on. Clint smirked and leaned against the wall.

"Oh, I wouldn't sweat it, honey. One of these days he'll realize you're just really playful." Theresa said, sighing. "Then he'll man-up and stop acting like such a bashful doe around you." She finished and I chuckled. After a few moments of silence, she started squealing. "Is that Styx I hear?"

"Mh-hm." I called, my voice turning absolutely ghetto. "Girl, you know how I do."

"Yeah, girl, I know how you do!" Theresa responded.

"That is _so_ racist." Clint chuckled before calling down the hall. "Hey, guys! You gotta get in here and see this!"

Theresa spoke again. "Hey! Since we're back in black, how about some AC/DC?"

I smacked my lips loudly. "Giiirl, you can read me like a book. Jarvis, darlin', could you please play AC/DC's Back in Black?" I asked, mixing some heavy whipping cream into the soup stock. It was finally seasoned properly. Now I just needed to get a ton of potatoes, a bit of queso and chives, and we'd have some nice baked potato soup.

"Of course, Miss."

"Oh, Jarvis, you're an AI after my own heart." I murmured as the music began playing.

"Thank you, Miss."

"Elizabeth, let's dance!" Theresa called excitedly. By now, all of the Avengers were in that tiny surveillance room watching me with varying degrees of amusement. Honestly, I was kind of ok with that.

"And I am right there with you!" I started to move around the kitchen along with the music. Knowing that everyone was watching me now instead of only Mr. Stark and Steve, I decided to have even more fun. I texted Theresa telling her to ask me about Avengers because they were _all_ watching now. Once the song died down, Theresa giggled and I knew she was down with my idea.

"Hey, Elizabeth?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"So... Captain America..."

"Yeah?" There was a heavy beat of silence, and I could just see Steve leaning closer to the monitor.

"I'd cap that." She said. Steve's face in the surveillance booth was almost horrified, which only made the joke that much funnier.

I burst out laughing. "I can't breathe!" I crowed happily. And it seemed neither could Mr. Stark or Clint.

"If you can speak, you can breathe." Theresa reminded with a chuckle.

"Well, you're biased." I announced. "You think all the Avengers are attractive." I reminded with a big smirk. The laughs in the surveillance room had died significantly. Everyone was watching the monitors and listening intently.

"And you've yet to prove me wrong." I chuckled loudly at that, but she wasn't finished. "No. Com'on. Let's go through the numbers, shall we?"

"Oh, oh yeah. Sure. Uh, well, there's my boss. Mr. Stark, who... I could cheerfully murder at times."

In the surveillance booth, several of the Avengers were chuckling at that. Mr. Stark looked slightly affronted.

"You _cannot_ kill Tony Stark!" Theresa said adamantly. "He's the finest piece of ass in a suit this country has!"

That got a bark of laughter out of both me and Mr. Stark.

"Wait a second... when you say 'in a suit'.." I prodded.

"Armani or Iron Man, it doesn't really matter." Theresa said in a dreamy tone. Mr. Stark was sporting one hell of a shark's grin now.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Okay. Well, you've actually met Hawk and Widow, right?"

"...dat. ass."

I put a hand over my mouth for a moment before asking. "Are we talking about Hawk or Widow?"

"Widow, duh-doy." Theresa said. "I mean, I was totally straight as the proverbial board, and then she came along, and now….it's complicated…."

I laughed and I was pretty certain Natasha was sporting a satisfied smirk. "And Hawk?" Clint zeroed in on my monitor like...well.. a hawk.

"He's an archer." Theresa replied, as if that was an answer.

"Uh..yeah, but."

"He's. An. _Archer_." She repeated, emphasizing each word. "Archers have archer muscles from the hips up. And that's not even taking into account that the man is cute as fuck!"

...and that was the day I learned that Hawks could preen.

I took a deep breath. "Tis no jest." I remarked with a giggle.

"That I do hate thee, and love Helena." Theresa replied, and I could practically hear the smirk in her voice. Ugh. Shakespeare.

"Okay, uh... Well, you saw Thor on the News right?"

"Yes. Have you seen Thor?" Theresa asked seriously, which threw me a bit.

"...I have seen Thor."

"Have you _heard_ Thor talk?"

I smirked, knowing where that was going. "Yesh."

"Then you know why Thor is undeniably attractive." she finished. "Seriously. It's like irresistibly attractive men from other countries. I don't care what you say, just keep talking. The phone book's fine. I'm not picky." Thor, didn't look smug like the others, but he was certainly sporting a pleased looking smile. I nodded vigorously.

"True story." I confirmed. "All that's left is Dr. Banner, and I'm absolutely certain you haven't met him." There was a beat of silence as Theresa considered my words.

"That would be Dr. Jekyll right?"

"Uh..." I thought about that, and it struck me as odd that I'd never made the connection before. "Well, now that you mention it—"

"Once again, he's attractive by default... Intelligence is one of the most handsome features in a man."

"Right?" I said as a way of agreeing. "Damn, girl. It's been way too long. You know what? You need to start calling me when you wake up. After breakfast. I'll just postpone my lunch hour so that I can talk to you without feeling guilty about not working and all."

"One o'clock? You think you can wait for lunch that long?"

"Sure! Shouldn't be that big of a deal." I said with a smile.

"Well.. I better get to cooking." Theresa said. "I'll make sure to call you around 1." She promised. "But before I go?"

"Yeah?"

"Repeat after me."

"...ok."

"Jarvis." I repeated what she was saying. "Please play, When You're Good to Mama, from the Chicago soundtrack." I smirked. Oh...that was good.

"Thank you, girl!" I cheered happily.

"I'll talk to ya later!" She cooed before hanging up.

I sighed. "Jarvis, please bump the music back up to 50% volume." I requested as Taye Diggs introduced the song. I smirked, bending down to get another pot from the lower cabinets and bopping my backside around to the music while I did. "Ask any of the chickies in my pen. They'll tell you I'm the biggest mother ...hen."

"Oh, wow. She's... she's dancing around the kitchen." Bruce said with repressed humor. I swear, everything about that man was repressed.

"Yea, she was doing that before she got the call." Mr. Stark said. "Now I don't even wanna go up there. She's way more entertaining when we leave her alone."

"Psh." Clint scoffed. "That woman has no problem with having an audience." He said in a tone that implied he was making a dare.

"You think?" Mr. Stark asked, eyeing my image on the monitor as I whisked in more ingredients into the soup. He shook his head. "I have a feeling if she caught someone watching her, she'd freeze and try to play it off." I would've snorted at that assumption, but I focused on filling the second pot full of water.

"I dunno, Tony. I'm with Clint on this one." Steve said with a smirk. Probably remembering the circumstances we'd met under. God knows I remembered.

"How much you wanna bet?" Clint asked as I added a bit more salt to the pot of water.

"Uh, $20?"

"Oh, $20." Clint taunted. "That all you're willing to loose, huh?"

"Ok, fine. $50."

"$50 it is." Clint said, making his way to the stairs.

I pulled my attention out of that surveillance room and really focused on the lyrics. It had been a while since I'd watched Chicago, but the lyrics were pretty basic. Now that Theresa wasn't on the phone, I could afford to do some more 'dynamic' moves. I used the beat to time my steps and the way my hips and shoulders would sway. Occasionally I'd do a high kick or a very stylized pose. Finally, I noticed Clint making his way out of the hallway across the room, but I pretended that I hadn't seen him.

"If you want my gravy, pepper my Ragu. Spice it up for Mama, She'll get hot for you!" I sang softly as I got a large bowl out of the upper cabinets. Clint had walked into the dining room and froze as if he wasn't expecting to see me at all. He was watching with a bashful, amused smile. This man was a reasonably good actor.

I grabbed a potato peeler out of the knife drawer and turned towards the fridge. This put Clint in my line of sight. I smile at him and just continued can-canning to the beat. I dumped as many potatoes as the fridge could hold into the empty bowl I had before I sang again.

"When they pass that basket Folks contribute to, you put in for Mama and she'll put _out_ for you!" I sang, bopping my backside out at the appropriate 'out' cue. Clint chuckled softly and approached the kitchen island I'd set the bowl of potatoes on.

"Jarvis, lower the music to 15% again, please."

"Yes, Miss."

"Oh, you don't have to stop on my account." Clint assured.

I smirked. "Oh, no. I've no intentions of stopping for anyone." I said with a smile.

"Looks like you're out $50, Tony." Steve said, pointing out the obvious.

"Worth it." Mr. Stark replied.

I flipped the potato peeler so that the handle was facing Clint. "Wanna help?" I asked. "Only two rules in my kitchen. You have to be willing to help, and you have to have rhythm."

Clint shrugged. "Sure." he said, seating himself on the stool at the island. I put a couple of paper towels near the bowl so that he'd have a place to put the peelings. I sashayed back to the stove. The broth was boiling quite nicely now, so I turned it down to a medium heat so that it would simmer.

"So..." Clint began. "You like to dance...and cook?" he began awkwardly.

I chuckled. "Yeah. I'm only really good at the cooking though." I muttered. "Not that it stops me from enjoying the beat."

"Oh, I can see that." He said with a nod, eying me up and down.

"Do not make me chase you out of here with a rusty knife." I threatened, but it was obvious it was all sassy bluster and no action. There was no way I could hurt this man with a knife... Damn, he was already finished peeling 2 potatoes? Wow... skills.

"I wouldn't dream of pushing the issue." He said with a smile, still intent on his work.

I eyed him suspiciously. "You weren't doing that creepy 'hawk is in his nest' thing that you do, were you?" She asked.

Now he was eyeing me suspiciously. "..who told you about that?" He asked carefully as he started on the next potato.

"There were quite a few colorful remarks in your file." I said with a smirk. He seemed to accept that. I added some freshly chopped chives to the broth and stirred it carefully. Hmm.. it was starting to get thicker. Now would be a great time for the queso. I dumped several spoon-fulls of that in as well. I turned my attention to the other pot. The salt had dissolved into the water. I carefully grabbed a small spoon and tasted the water... it was very salty. Good. That would help to flavor the potatoes.

"Finished." Clint said. I looked back over at him and blinked.

"Damn. You are good with a knife." I observed. He smiled and pretended to polish his nails against his shirt. "Yeah, yeah, you're all that." I muttered. "Now, let's see how fast you can cut those potatoes into quarters." I challenged.

"Oh, get ready to be impressed." He boasted.

"Well," I heard Steve say as he stood up. "It's obvious she can cook... So, the kitchen is officially safe." he said, exiting the surveillance room.

"You done?" Mr. Stark asked.

"Yeah... I still think this is sort of intrusive." He murmured.

Natasha smirked and shook her head. "It's obvious who the paragon of freedom is...and who the spy is."

"Ha. Ha." He muttered leaving the room.

"Done." Clint said shooting me a smug look. It pulled me back into the room and I pretended to examine the contents of the bowl.

"Impressive... most impressive." I said then eyed him. "But you are not a Jedi yet." he chuckled at that. I dumped the potatoes into the boiling salty water. About 10 minutes, and they'd be nice and tender. I could strain them and dump them into the broth. It would make for the best potatoes soup. "Is everyone down in the bunker?" I asked. Bruce, Steve, and Thor had all wondered away from the surveillance room, but Natasha and Mr. Stark were still watching.

"Uh, yeah." Clint said with a nod. "They're...working on projects and stuff."

I nodded. "I get it. Secretary, house manager." I said pointing to myself. "Need to know basis and all that jazz." I smiled.

"Are you enjoying managing our house?" Clint asked seriously. He honestly looked interested... how sweet.

"Yeah. It's.. probably one of the best jobs I've ever had." I confessed honestly. "I mean, it can be tiring, but that probably has more to do with the fact that I'm not really in my own home and all." Clint nodded. "At least you guys haven't asked me to fight off the slashers." I said with a smirk.

Clint looked very confused. "Uh, yeah. We really wouldn't do something like that. I mean... you're a secretary. Why in God's name would we ask you to fight off knife wielders?"

I stared at Clint for about half a minute before bursting into uproarious laughter. He stared at me in shock. "No. No, Clint." I gasped. "Slashers aren't knife wielders!" I said, grasping my side. My ribs were killing me.

"Well..then, what are Slashers?"

I chuckled. "Uh... it's more of a.. literary phenomenon." I said with a smirk. Oh, how to explain this. "To be perfectly honest, the public seems to favor Iron man and Captain America." I said with a nod.

"Ok, now you've got me curious." Clint said. "Is this literature... graphic and gory?"

I made a face. "Uh... well..." I eyed the clock above the stove. Hadn't 15 minutes passed yet? Geeze. "Yes, to the graphic and not really to the gory, but you know I'm really not into that type of slash anyway."

"You're really not helping me here." Clint said.

"Okay, uh.. let's see." I smiled. "If you were to see a story, and in the description of the story you saw something that said 'Hawkeye / Black widow', what would you assume?" I asked.

Clint's eyebrows rose as a leer slipped onto his face. "That the story had Natasha and I... hey.. wait.." His face became pensive.

"So, if you saw another one that was described as 'Iron Man / Captain America'..." I prodded.

"No way!" Clint began, his eyes widening. "People write about that?"

I nodded. "Haters gonna hate, slashers gonna slash... procrastinators gonna procrastinate." I murmured.

"How do you know about this?" He asked, sounding scandalized.

"Well, before I had a job, I did spend a lot of time on the internet." I said with a smirk.

"You?" He asked, sounding so shocked it was hilarious. "You're a slasher?"

"Well, I don't _write_ slash fiction." I murmured, my face and tone turning far too innocent. Clint caught on right away.

"Oh my ... I can't... Ugh." He shook his head.

"What's going on?" It was then that Captain America decided to walk into the kitchen.

"Nothing!" I called, my voice squeaking a bit. I glared at Clint, willing him to understand that Steve was from the 40's and there was no way I was introducing him to slash fiction. No. Way. I don't really know if Clint understood my glare, but he did seem to understand that he was in a delicate position.

"Nothing at all." Clint murmured, rising from the stool. "Look, uh, just call me when this... what is this?"

"It's going to be potato soup." I said, much calmer now that I knew Clint wasn't going to blab.

"Potatoes soup is finished." He murmured. He walked away, shaking his head and muttered as he passed Steve to go down the hall.

"What about Slash now?" Steve asked.

I held up my hands. "Oh no. I am _not_ popping that cherry." I said warningly.

"Hey, don't go making assumptions, woman." he groused.

"What did you just call me?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip. Steve fidgeted in place uncomfortably, folding his arms across his chest tightly. "Did you come in here for a reason?"

He looked around awkwardly. "Do you have anything I could eat right now?" he asked hopefully. I smiled and nodded. There was still a bit of left over lasagna in the fridge.

"I could be persuaded to reheat some lasagna for you." I said before turning the heat off on the pot of boiling potatoes.

"I'd...really appreciate that." He said, making a big show of trying to meet me half way. He watched as I cut a large slice of lasagna and placed it in a shallow bowl before putting it into the microwave. "So.. you can cook. That's great."

"Indeed." I murmured.

"I understand a lot of working dames don't cook as much anymore."

Dames? Oh, that was just _too_ adorable. "I may've picked up a few tricks along the way. I'm no chef that's for sure." I looked back over at him. "Not that I won't chase you out of my kitchen with a wooden spoon if I must." I said coolly as I sauntered up to him.

He chuckled softly. "Please." He scoffed, and that just did it.

I stepped forward and twisted my foot slightly so that it caught behind his ankle, then I pulled that leg forward, making him slip backwards. Of course, his backside landed partially on the edge of one of the stools and his elbows found purchase on the edge of the island countertop to keep himself upright. I moved quickly, using my other foot to climb onto the first wrung of the stool and then straddling his waste. He stared at me with wide puppy dog eyes, swallowing harshly. His eyes darted from my eyes to my lips and then all around my face and even down my body before returning to my eyes.

"Don't challenge me, Rogers." I murmured throatily. He was so nervous and adorable; it was hard to imagine the nation's hero was quelled by the assertions of a strong woman.

"Oh dear." Clint and Mr. Stark decided that was a great time to walk into the kitchen. Steve cleared his throat, and I dismounted, walking over to the microwave and retrieving his lasagna.

"Uh, I'd hate it if we were interrupting." Clint began. ".. you two weren't, uh—"

"No." Steve denied hastily. "no, no. I'd never, uh.." He seemed at such a loss, but that 'never' comment still stung quite a bit.

"Hmph." I huffed loudly, and that noise got their attention. "Never, huh?" I said, handing him the plate of lasagna. "Glad to know where I stand then." I said, taking on an air of hurt feelings. I reminded myself that it wasn't my feelings he hurt. It wasn't. My pride? Maybe. But he hadn't hurt my feelings. He _hadn't._ I placed a colander into the sink before going back to the stove.

"Uh.. Thanks for the lasagna." Steve said lamely.

"Careful, Captain." I muttered. "As I understand it, you have a bit of a problem handling hot dishes." I bit out, dumping the pot of steaming hot potatoes into a colander. Steve proceeded to give me the most gut-wrenching puppy-dog eyes I'd ever seen on a grown man. It made me want to rush across the room and give him a big hug and tell him it was all fine and that I forgave him. But I held onto my ire, sighing as I fished out a fork and knife from the utensil drawer. "Here. Booze is in the fridge." I advised handing him the utensils. "Now get outta my kitchen before I chase you with a wooden spoon." I grumbled.

"Heeeey." Clint whined. "You threatened to chase _me_ with a rusty knife." He reminded. I slowly turned a glare on him. He held my gaze for a few seconds before throwing his hands up in surrender. "I surrender." He said for good measure.

"Good man." I muttered with a nod, returning to my stove.

"Steve." Clint stage whispered. "Get out of the kitchen, man. Get out of the line of fire. She's got the look, and sweet baby Jesus, we need to evacuate the danger zone."

"I'm going with Barton on this one." Mr. Stark muttered, swiftly making his way back to the hall. Steve was still giving me a guilty look, but he followed their advice, and soon the kitchen was all mine again.

I sighed. "Peace at last." I cracked my neck and rotated my shoulders to relax. I'd set some steaks on to marinate yesterday afternoon that would go great with this soup... Most of the Avengers were serious 'steak and potatoes' types as it were. I wasn't much of a meat lover to be honest, but with the super soldier and a Norse god in the house, lots of protein was a definite must for meals. "Jarvis, love?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"Could you please put on some Sting? I'm in the mood to hear the Hounds of Winter."

"Right away, Miss." Jarvis complied.

"If it were legal, I would totally marry you, Jarvis." I announced.

"I'm afraid I am incapable of feeling love, Miss. But you do flatter me."

I sighed. "Oh, I've met men just like you, Jarvis." I smirked. But Sting was singing now, and that was all I needed to relax. Now, if people would just stay out of the kitchen, I maybe could get supper going.

* * *

**Ok, so not a lot going on in this chapter, but it was fun :3 Wasn't it fun? I liked it.**

**Dunno if anyone's interested, but we made a video of our latest hang out :) it's here: ****youtu . be** / GKEtMywsy9w . It's just a day that we got together to celebrate and have some fun :3 We do it all the time, but in this case I kept the camera rolling :) Go and take a gander if ya wanna!


	7. Chapter 7

**Time for Chapter 7 :D We're excited for this one since so much akshully happens in this chapter!**

**Thanks to sammyxxjames for keeping tabs on us :3 And thanks to leximander for you comment. We're so happy we could make you laugh. As always, thanks to Kiwifruit for consistently making our smiles happen :)**

* * *

"Oh, c'mon!" Clint whined as I put a kettle full of water on the stove. "I _HAVE_ to be your favorite. We're so good together as a team."

I chuckled. "I don't want to say or do anything that'll get me on Natasha's bad side."

I walked past him to get to the refrigerator for milk.

"You're my favorite non-Avenger! I should be your favorite Avenger. Did all those nights of Rick Rolling Tony mean nothing to you? Oh! It's Stark, isn't it? Him will all that money."

I laughed even louder this time as I closed the refrigerator door. I knew Clint was feigning drama, which made his hysterics even more entertaining.

Before I could get back to preparing tea, Clint grabbed me and wrapped his arms around me. He was no Steve Rogers, but his strength still overpowered me.

"Give me a kiss, and I'll forgive you." he whispered to me.

Before I could say anything or break free, an alarm started to sound off.

"Loki has been spotted. I repeat, Loki has been spotted at the museum of Natural History." Jarvis announced.

"Loki's back?" I squawked.

Clint immediately let me go.

"Go to Banner's lab, Elizabeth!" He shouted. He then ran down the hallway to presumably get his bow and arrows.

As I ran down the hallway behind him, I saw the other members of the Avengers rushing around, getting ready to suit up. I then bumped in to Bruce. I could see Bruce's skin color already changing.

"Bruce, not inside!" I shouted.

He just looked down at me with empty eyes, as his mass became greater. Without saying anything else, I ran past him, slamming his lab door behind me and bolting it shut. Even with everyone rushing about, and Bruce already turning in to the Hulk, the only thing I could think about was calling Theresa and letting her know what was going on. There was no phone down here and I didn't have my cell on me.

Instinctively, I crawled under one of the tables, but from even where I was sitting, I could see the TV. The channel Bruce left it on was the news and I hoped that, soon enough, I could see what exactly was going on.

* * *

Loki passed through the halls of the American Museum of Natural History with a satisfied smirk on his face. He'd finally managed to find what he was looking for while on of his shadows moved on its own, seeking what he was truly looking for. Admittedly, the scene in front of him wasn't entirely as he'd been imagining it, but it would more than suffice for his purposes. In this immense room there stood frozen 2 sets of skeletons poised in combat – one long necked dinosaur was rearing back away from an obvious predator. He'd already allowed his magic to scan 4 other great beasts, but this was the predator he'd been seeking. He would have to use his own imagination for some of the finer parts of his plan, but that certainly wasn't a problem for him.

"Your Majesty." He murmured to himself as he smirked at the skeleton of the great predator. He knew his shadow had now found other objects that could help him, so he paused to allow it the chance it needed to magic away what he wanted. As he waited for the chance to use his magic again, he stood and admired the contents of this engaging building. It was truly amazing, the things mortals were showcasing here.

He felt the item he'd been seeking as it slipped through the rift, whisked away by his magic to a safer place. Thus the full force of his magic returned to him. He used it again to scan over these skeletons. "Much obliged." He murmured turning towards the exit. Well, this was certainly a productive trip… not that his intended targets had arrived yet.

"Hey, look! Iron Man's outside!" He heard a child cry from the doorway. The mortals began to clamor outside and he couldn't help but smirk.

"Right on schedule."

* * *

"How's it lookin', Stark?" Having Captain America's apple pie voice circulating in his helmet was never Tony's idea of a good time, but that was the cost of being on Recon Squad.

"Nothing doing so far, Captain. Nothing but tourist and excited kids who want… wait… " The HUD display began beeping in aggravation, a figure in the distance was framed in a flashing red box. "Got him." He said. "He's standing in the main entrance… smirking at me like we're old palls." Loki simply stood at the top of the stares, looking at him as though he hadn't a care in the world. The demi-god had adapted well to casual human fashion, sporting snug black jeans, a rich green shirt and a smart black leather jacket.

"That cannot be good." He heard Thor's voice in the distance.

"Tell me about it." He muttered. He switched the audio forward so that it would project. "Please remain calm. We need you to quickly and orderly evacuate these premises." The children were still chattering excitedly, but the adults realized the severity of the issue. They began corralling the kids and hurriedly scuttled away. Some of them, very idiotically, simply relocated to the hot dog stand across the street. Tony slowly propelled himself forward, coming to a nice land next to the equestrian statue of Roosevelt.

"So, they have you playing reconnaissance do they?" Loki called "I would've thought my brother would want to come directly on his own."

"Well, after our last song and dance, we're not willing to take chances." Tony reminded, receiving a nod and an absent shark's grin. "And what happened to not being his brother?" Tony prodded. He watched as Loki's face went slack, his eyes drifting away before the ghost of a smile tugged at the edge of his lips.

"Habit." He said with a shrug, but he sounded dazed. Tony glared at him warily from behind the HUD. With a flick of his pinkie, his outgoing audio went mute.

"You guys seeing this?" He asked. "He looks… I dunno…"

"Tired." Thor supplied.

"Right." Tony switched the outgoing audio on again. "So, what brings you to this neighborhood?"

Loki blinked, looking up at the grand archways above his head. "Oh, I was told that my regard for you mortals is much too low. Do you know this place has a rating of 23 in your Zagat?"

"Yeah? Whaddaya know." Tony said.

"Oh yes!" Loki said with feeling. "They have that…that…giant thing. That Mammoth! And the bear-dog…"

"Amphicyon?" Tony supplied.

"Yes. Yes. Amphicyon. But you know my favorite has to be that Tyrannosaurus Rex."

"Well, this is a great family establishment. Your brother's about 15 minutes out, maybe you could show him." Tony countered, hoping for a reaction.

Loki laughed, a look of nostalgia taking his expression. "Maybe…but Thor wouldn't care for old bones no matter how impressive they are. They're too dull on their own to hold his interest over long." He said staring off to the side. Revelation dawned on his face. "You know what he might enjoy?"

"I have a horrible feeling you're going to show me…" Tony grumbled as Loki's eyes swung back to him alight with mischievous glee.

"Seeing those creatures the way they were when they were alive!"

"Um, yeah, I guess that'd be sort of coolish as long as you can put them on a leash and keep them—" He stopped, a sinking feeling settling in his gut as Loki's green eyes began to flare. Tony swore the statue beside him trembled just slightly from the impact of… enormous footsteps.

"Stark?" Steve's voice was loud in his helmet and Tony couldn't respond. "Stark, what's going on?"

"Mother Puss Bucket." Tony nearly growled. "Can't you see it?"

"Negative. That last surge of magic caused some sort of short. We no longer have a visual."

"He's animated the dinosaurs that were in the museum!" Tony snarled, drawing away as the walking skeletons advanced on him. He was met with silence.

"He didn't." Steve pleaded.

"Holy!" Tony ignited his thrusters, darting away from the gaping maw of a skeletal Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Tony, what—?"

"I can't talk right now, Capcicle! Rex seems to want to play fetch!"

"Can you lead them into the park?" Steve questioned hurriedly.

"I'm Iron Man, not a Dino-Wrangler!" He complained, but tried to keep himself close enough to taunt the dinosaur without being within reach. "I'll see what I can manage!"

His HUD display fragmented, showing him that Loki was creating more magic. This magic, however, seemed to wrap around him, transforming his modern day clothes into the usual leather and armor her wore.

"It appears they like you." Loki said with a chuckle. He cast another spell, this time sending the magic out to cover the bones that were currently chasing Tony. Tony watched as the walking skeletons were beginning to be wrapped in muscle and skin. Loki was recreating dinosaurs from the blue prints he'd observed from the museum? How… interesting. His HUD display began scanning each figure, bringing up the various names of each beast. Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Mammoth and…Velociraptors? But… that wasn't right at all…

Once fully re-embodied, the T-Rex let out a defining roar and led the charge. The mammoth trumpeted and began to wander away, probably in no mood to be near such a predator. The Apatosaurus obviously agreed as it hastily diverged from the group and went further into the park.

"Tony, you cannot engage!" Steve's worried voice came over the connection.

"Uh, you wanna run that by me again?" Tony quipped, darting away from another snack-attack from the Allosaurus this time.

"Those skeletons are property of the museum, we cannot—"

"I don't think these guys _are_ the skeletons from the museum." Tony responded, trying to lead them further into the park.

"Can you clarify that?" Natasha asked.

"Look at the list if dinos that are after me!" Tony shouted. "There are no Velociraptors on display at the museum! Especially these! They look like they're copies of.. Jurassic Park. I think these are just carbon copies!"

And then, Thor descended from the heavens, smashing the T-Rex's skull in with Mjölnir. The Hulk was right behind him, lifting the Allosaurus into the air and throwing it. Surprisingly, the beast survived the toss. It reared itself up again and roared at the Hulk in outrage… funny thing, the Hulk just roared back. That made that Allosaurus stare at the green man-thing, sizing him up. The Hulk didn't really care one way or the other about strategy. He just charged again.

"Oh, now that is just sad." Tony said, hovering by Thor. The Thunderer was standing triumphantly over the head of the T-Rex. The Rex gave its last breath and then slowly began to vanish, like dust being blow away by the wind.

"You three think you can take care of the Raptors?" Steve asked from the bay door of the helijet.

"Pretty sure we can manage." Tony said, eyeing the raptors that were circling him and Thor.

"Good. We need to round up the other two."

"The herbivores?" Tony asked with dismay.

"Herbivores or not, they'll only cause a panic."

"Guess so." He pouted. "No worries then, we'll just—"

"Thor! On your 6!" Natasha yelled down.

Time seemed to slow down as one of the bigger Velociraptors broke off from the group and flew through the air towards Thor. Thor barely had enough time to look up before the damn thing was nearly on him. And then, a bolt of blue energy sailed through the air, hitting the beast in the gut. It knocked it back into the shrubbery. All of the Velociraptors keened and contorted as though the spell had hit all of them. They collapsed and blew away as the Rex had, only so much dust being left behind. Thor and Tony whirled to find a very perplexed looking Loki, his hand still raised from throwing the spell. He breathed in and out, dazed shock permeating his expression. His eyes rested on Thor for a moment, and he swallowed harshly. When Thor took a step forward, Loki bolted. He ran, partially using his magic to allow him to dash ahead erratically.

"I think he's heading back to the museum." Hawkeye observed. Thor didn't really need to hear more than that before he tore off after Loki. Tony propelled himself higher to confirm it, but he knew that Hawkeye's instincts were probably right. After a quick confirmation, he dove to follow as well. He needed to get to the bottom of this mystery.

"What could he possibly be after there?" Steve wondered aloud.

"Either way, it looks like we're on clean-up." Natasha muttered, her eyes scanning the treetops for the other two dinosaurs.

Loki sighed as he found his way back to the hall exhibit he'd seen only an hour before. He used his magic to shatter the glass casing around the item he'd had his eye on.

"No time for finesse now." He muttered to himself as he grabbed the ornament. It was a single orb of blue wrapped in a golden wire the flared out at the edges and crossed over the jewel. The plaque underneath where it rested read 'Eye of Odin'.

"Brother, stop!" Thor bellowed as he skidded to a halt at the entrance of the hallway. Loki glared at him and drew back, never turning his back to him but never allowing Thor to get closer.

"Stay back." Loki seethed quietly. Thor paused for a moment to eye him critically, but then he advanced again albeit slowly. "I said stay back!" Loki shouted.

"Aw, but he just wants to reward his hero." Tony cooed condescendingly as he landed just behind Thor. Thor held up a hand, absently requesting that Tony hold his position where he was. "I mean, he should at least say thank you, what with you saving his ass and all." Tony made a show of looking around. "Hey, good to see those skeletons are still here." He murmured.

"I didn't…" Loki began but his words died away.

"Yes you did." Thor murmured, Loki's gaze jerking to him as if startled. "The Man of Iron is right." Thor said with a small smile, ignoring it when Tony asked if he could get that in writing. "I should thank you for that, Brother."

"Oh, Norns! It was an accident!" Loki ranted, his expression growing wild. "I didn't even mean to do it, it was just… it was just…" He swallowed. "Just… reflex." He said shaking his head. Somehow Thor had managed to draw closer. Loki took in a shuttering breath as he hastily backpedaled. "St…" Loki swallowed hard. "Stay away." He breathed.

"You know I cannot, Brother." Thor soothed as best he could, still striding forward.

Loki's face went still as he felt something he hadn't felt in ages. A presence he knew well enough and the surge of energy only accompanied by—

"Get back!" He yelled, using his own magic to physically push Thor back. As far as the thunder god was concerned, it was a mere love-tap. He looked up to his brother who was twisting in place, but not quick enough. A blast of green magic slammed into Loki and sent him flying into the wall besides Thor, then he hit the floor and was hefted up again so that he hit the other two walls as well before coming to a stop in a bloody heap on the ground. Loki panted exhaustedly, his eyes rising from his brother's boots. "Enchantress." He warned, and Thor had Mjölnir brandished and at the ready as the female form began to emerge from the opposite end of the hallway.

"Damn." Tony muttered in appreciation as the curvy blond sauntered forward.

"How dare you attack my brother, Enchantress!" Thor growled.

"You know her?" Tony asked.

"Yes.. the Enchantress, Amora and her body guard the Executioner." Thor practically spat, striding forward to put himself between Loki and his assailant.

"We only meant to aid you, Thunderer." Amora soothed in a tone that was entirely too innocent to be real. "The All-Father has deemed Loki _Laufeyson_ a hopeless cause, and called for his immediate return to Asgard for judgment."

"You lie!" Thor roared. "Our father would never do such a—"

"You could ask him yourself, of course." Amora murmured with a sugary sweet smile. "The magical attack I used should have drained Loki of his remaining magic, rendering him as useless as he usually is."

"Wow…" Tony grumbled. "Look, I'll probably never be in the Loki fan club, but there are things you really just _don't_ say about a guy's brother." Amora's face puckered in obvious aggravation over this mortal's interference.

"She's lying." Loki breathed raggedly. "About why she's here." He continued. Thor's head turned just slightly, his eyes ever on the Enchantress but he was obviously paying attention to whatever Loki was trying to say. "That much is a falsity. The All-Father has made no such decree." Amora's face darkened dangerously as she glared at him.

"Leave now." Thor growled, advancing forward. "Take your wicked intent and go!"

The executioner hefted his great axe, and sliced almost as though cutting through the very fabric of reality. A gaping black hole exposed itself in the middle of thin air.

"Perhaps another time then." Amora cooed with a sinister smile as she and her companion fled through the hole, only for it to sew itself back up again.

"Brother." Thor murmured worriedly, turning and slowly sinking to his knees. Loki had the impression that Thor would have hefted him up and carried him somewhere safe where his wounds could be tended… if Loki would've allowed it. His magic was drained, as the Enchantress had said, but his fist closed tightly over the artifact he'd stolen and he pulled power from it. The Eye of Odin was said to grant power and insight to whoever should possess it… he needed that now more than ever. Before Thor could reach for him, Loki was surrounded by white light and then he vanished.

He didn't see Thor hang his head in defeat… He didn't see Iron Man place a comforting hand on the Thunder God's shoulder.

"Uh, guys?" Hawkeye's voice came over Tony's intercom.

"What?" Tony snapped.

"Geeze. I'll schedule an appointment when I can, okay. But I just thought you'd like to know the other two dinosaurs are dust… one of them without us even touching it."

"Roger that… we need to get back to base and debrief." Tony said.

"What about Loki?" Steve asked.

"We'll tell you in the debrief." Tony said. He had a feeling Thor wouldn't really want to go over this more than once. "Come on, big guy." Tony said. Thor nodded and rose, his eyes falling on the enormous skeletons that had entranced his brother.

* * *

Since the commotion with Loki this morning, I hadn't seen the Avengers much. I saw everyone hobble to the kitchen on occasion to grab food, all except for Bruce. Bruce was undoubtedly keeping himself in his lab, probably continuing his research on how to contain the Hulk, or trying to figure out how to detect Loki sooner than when he was detected earlier today.

I stood in the middle of my office, looking around and making sure I had everything done before I clocked out.

As I walked into the hallway and shut the door behind me, a thought crossed my mind. With my powers, I tapped into Mr. Stark's system and talked to Jarvis with my thoughts.

"Jarvis, when was the last time any of us saw Dr. Banner?"

"13 hours, Miss." Jarvis replied.

"Really?" I thought, bringing myself out of the system.

This won't do. I threw my high heels in my room and ran to the kitchen. I looked around and started throwing sandwiches together: cold ones, cheeses grilled, cheese and potatoe salad grilled. When I'd finished and looked at my work, I saw that I had made 12 different kinds of sandwiches, 3 of the same each. We were also out of bread.

"Jarvis, sweetie?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"Please take note that we're out of bread and I need to go out to get more." I said, putting the sandwiches on a big platter.

"Noted."

"Thanks, Jarvis!"

After I had gotten the sandwiches in place, I bounded down the stairs to the basement to Bruce's workshop.

It was really quiet around the base, but I wasn't surprised. The Avengers had just got back from a mission yesterday and had been heavily resting since then. But usually if Bruce wasn't on a mission with everyone else, he held himself hostage in his lab and didn't speak to anyone very often. I worried about m sometimes. I knew that he needed his quiet time so he wouldn't be stressed, but I felt that since everyone was aware of his condition, he could mingle with everyone once in a while. It's not like anyone would make him angry n purpose. Well, Clint might.

I broke my train of thought and found myself already at Bruce's lab.

I lightly knocked on the door with my foot.

"Come in." I heard him say quietly.

"Um, could you please open the door for me?" I asked.

After a few moments, Bruce opened the door. As he stood there looking at me questioningly. I saw that he looked tired and haggard. He had stubble on his face and his eyes had bags under them. His buttoned up purple shirt looked wrinkled from too much wear.

Without saying anything, I gently pushed my way past him with my (luggage). When I got in to the dimly lit room, I put the platter of sandwiches on the nearest table and turned around to face him.

"So what brings you here?" Bruce asked as he sat down at his work table.

"I haven't seen you for a while. I brought you some food." I said, leaning against the table with sandwiches.

"Thank –Thank you, but I—" Bruce waved his hand, denying my offering.

"Look, snacking on candy all day and night is not healthy. I'm not afraid to go doting big sister on your ass. Now eat."

Bruce sighed and slowly walked to the sandwiches. He hesitantly picked up a sandwich, and after inspecting it, asked, "What's this one?"

"That one is grilled cheese and potato salad." I answered.

Bruce took a bite and nodded in approval while chewing, and walked back to his table.

"Well, at least you're eating something." I said, crossing my arms.

Just then, the door opened and Mr. Stark walked in.

"Hey, Bruce, I—" Tony stopped talking and looked back and forth between Bruce and me. "What—" he started pointing at us. "What is this?"

I looked over at Bruce. "Oh, your science boyfriend is jealous."

Mr. Stark grabbed a sandwich and took a big bite out of it.

"I'm not jealous." He scoffed.

Just at that moment, Clint burst into the room and made Bruce and Mr. Stark jump a little.

"There you are!" Clint shouted, pointing at me. "I have a bone to pick with you!"

I started at Clint for a moment. "What did I do?"

"You kissed Steve and took Thor out on a date! Where's my kiss? Where's my affection? What's the deal?" Clint closed his arms and stared at me, waiting for my answer.

"Well, I, uh." I stammered.

Mr. Stark jumped in. "Yeah, what about me?"

I rolled my eyes, hoping that the heat in my face wasn't a blush. "Well, you're my boss."

"Where's my affection?" Clint continued "What do Steve and Thor have that I don't?"

I sighed. I didn't know what to say. I was also tired from working all day and just wanted to lie down for a bit. But I had a small idea.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you guys." I said. I then grabbed a sandwich and turned to Bruce. "Just make sure to eat a little okay?" I asked him. I then walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Walking past Clint and Mr. Stark.

"What—What the hell?"Clint screeched.

Mr. Stark quietly snickered.

"I'm taking a nap." I said, stopping in the doorway.

* * *

**And...that is all.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 is here at last! Sorry that it's taken so long :| This chapter was a little difficult to write, just because we both wanted it to be perfect. Not to mention our schedules have been hectic till now. Luckily, things are evening out a bit :)**

**Much love to leximander and Kiwifruit for their reviews :3 We're so glad you enjoyed the last chapter. We both liked it as well... well, one of us really liked it. The other one is still complaining about how cruel we are to Loki even though she acknowledges that the conflict is necessary to the story... :) She'll get over it after this chapter. Also, hugs and hearts to water-iris-hetalia for following the story. You made our smiles happen :)**

**Speaking of last chapter, the one of us that writes Theresa's segments is surprised that no one mentioned the easter egg that we threw into the last chapter :o She wrote the whole Loki/Avengers/Dinosaur scene, and she included something from another show she used to watch that she thought would fit well into this fandom. She's surprised that no one noticed/mentioned it...**

**Enough babble! On to the show! Also... heart strings will be tugged during the reading of this chapter. Proceed at your own risk.. you have been warned.**

* * *

Theresa sighed as she turned the coffee pot off. She'd just finished a three hour writing session. She fully intended to do a bit more research before diving into the zone again, but right now she needed a break. Her eyes were ready to cross just from staring at her own handwriting.

She put the dishes that were soaking in the sink in the dishwasher. She had to be careful because River decided to do figure eights around her ankles. Vlad made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat which got her attention.

"What's wrong, Vladdy-Vlads?" she asked. Theresa stood still, listening and waiting. She learned to listen and wait when her cats acted squirrelly because their senses were keener than hers. She let out a tiny shriek when Loki descended into her living room with a loud thump. "Loki!" she cried, running to hover over him. She knelt near him, her hand fluttering to his neck to check his pulse. It was fast but strong. She gasped when his hand closed over her wrist. "Loki, what happened to you?" She asked. "Please tell me this isn't all your blood."

"Unfortunately so…" He wheezed. "I've only just managed to stop the bleeding." He panted as he attempted to roll on his side. "I could not manage a transport of any great distance, though." He said almost apologetically.

"We need to get you cleaned up." Theresa noted. "Can I help you stand?"

He nodded. "I've few options, and I'd very much like to get off this floor." He replied. It took some time and there may've been more stops and starts than usual, but Theresa finally got him on his feet. After lacing his arm over her shoulders, she led him down the hall to the last door on the right. He was slightly surprised to find it led to a bedroom with a king sized bed. She steered him to the left where the adjoining bathroom was.

"Okay. We need to get your clothes off." She murmured, letting him rest by perching against the sink's countertop.

"I… I suppose."

"Remove your coat first, and we'll get to working on the chest piece and straps. I'll get you a towel…unless you need help?"

"I think I can manage." He grumbled. She stared at him for a moment before approaching him. "What –"

"No need to be bashful." She murmured. "Roll your shoulders back." She instructed, reaching for his long coat. He complied hesitantly and she carefully slid it off of him. She was very careful with the armor clasps and leather straps that held his armored chest-piece in place. She figured it was the only thing that protected his ribs. Under it was his leather tunic which fastened in the middle.. There was a nice green linen shirt underneath all that. "Shirt next, okay?" When he nodded she slowly removed his shirt paying attention not to hurt him further as she brought it over his head. "It looks like the worst of the blood was soaked up by your shirt.." she observed. "Though...a lot of it has dried in your hair." She continued grimly before kneeling.

"W-What _are_ you doing?"

"Removing your boots." She said as though it were obvious.

"Oh." He said. He was somewhat shocked when she lifted one foot, perching it over her shoulder. She then shimmied it off gently before setting his foot down and repeated the process.

"Okay. I'll get you a towel to wrap around your waist."

"I _am_ wearing underwear." He announced. She eyed him as she reached for a towel in the cupboard.

"And you wish me to _see_ this underwear?"

He shrugged before wincing. "I've nothing to be ashamed of." He announced.

She chuckled softly, more than a little nervous at such a statement. "I'm sure you don't." She said handing him the towel. "But I'd be more comfortable this way."

"Noted." He said somewhat sourly.

She darted into the shower and turned the hot water on immediately, while he shed both leather trousers and underwear and wrapped the towel around his waist. Once it was hot she turned the cold on and angled the shower head away. When she walked back out she couldn't help but think that the towel was a little shorter than she'd assumed. She thought it would hit beneath his knees, but it was a couple inches above. Still she went to his side and helped him into the shower.

"Okay, there's a step… good. Now just sit on the bench there." Once she had him comfortably seated, she leaned away. "I'm going to start at the top, okay?"

He nodded, tiredly. "Do what you must." was all he could say. Theresa could see his endurance was waning. He needed to rest, but this would help.

As carefully as she could, she rinsed the blood off him, starting by soaking his hair and then down his neck. His back and chest was a simple step to drenching everything else. She carefully worked shampoo into his hair, then let soap suds fall down the length of his skin from his chest. She tried not to _see_ his body, because it wasn't something she should be noticing at a time like this… but, well…his body was _there_. Somehow she managed to rinse him off without embarrassing herself. She sighed in relief when she could finally shut off the water.

"I'm going to go and get you some warm, dry towels, okay?" He only nodded wearily. She quickly dashed in the other room, bringing back three towels. Somehow he'd managed to stand up. Without looking, she removed the wet towel from his waist and replaced it with a dry one. She draped another over his head and offered the other to him.

"I can take care of myself." He groused, and she wondered if she'd crossed some boundary.

"Okay. I'll be in the bedroom if you need me." She said, backing off. Weakened as he was, she certainly didn't want to get on his bad side. She left him, but left the door to the bathroom open so that she could hear if he needed her. She surveyed the bed… she'd changed the sheets a few days ago. Somewhat of a custom left over from her mother to just wash all the sheets in the house and put fresh bedding on all the beds. She pulled down the covers and rearranged the pillows so that they were more functional as opposed to decorative. She turned and found him paused in the doorway. He looked _so_ haggard. "Come lay down." She invited. He came forward slowly, as though he were unsure his legs would carry him. He sighed heavily as he lay down, and she covered him up. His eyes closed in bliss as his head hit the pillow.

"I've no need of a nursemaid." He grumbled.

"Shh." She soothed, leaning forward and pressing a kiss on his forehead. She felt him tense up, his eyes widening in shock as a tiny gasp managed to squeak past his lips. "My house. My rules." She murmured against his temple. His head lulled to the side slightly, his forehead brushing just against her chin. It was then that she realized that he craved the same human contact that she did… and just like her, he was incapable of attaining it. "Now rest." She murmured. "I'd say you've earned it."

Loki let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes again. This time he relaxed and let sleep take him.

Theresa softly padded around the room, turning out the lights. She went into the living room and found the drawer where she kept the LED pens. They had little lights in the tip of the pens, which made for great writing lights that didn't interfere with anything else. She snatched her cellphone off the kitchen countertop, switching it to silent. With that in hand she went back into the bedroom, carefully tiptoeing to the lounge at the foot of the bed. She reached under the foot of the lounge and found a notebook (it was her policy to keep them stashed away in every room). She wouldn't be able to do the research she'd planed on, but she could still keep herself occupied. It felt wrong to leave the room or fall asleep.

She lost track of the time, softly scribbling at the notebook with tales of warring elves and humans. Luckily she could Google anything she randomly had questions about on her cell phone. It was around 2 in the morning when she felt the barometric pressure change. She heard the thunder rumbling, albeit distant. It wasn't long before the storm had rolled over them, and Loki sat straight up in bed.

"B-Brother!" He cried hoarsely, looking at the ceiling in a panic.

"Loki, it's just the thunder." Theresa tried to sooth, swiftly coming to his bed side.

"No. He's searching for me." Loki gasped, panting, his eyes still on the ceiling. "If he finds me now..."

"Loki, look at me." His eyes floated down to her. "Do you remember what I did the time you caught me unaware in the pantry?" she asked. His eyes moved back and forth furiously as if searching for the memory. "When I was sitting on the sofa, and I vanished?" Loki nodded dazedly. "If anyone, _anyone_ comes into my house looking for you... they'll only find me. You hear me?" There was heavy silence in which only Loki's shuttering breaths intruded on.

"You would…" he swallowed hard before continuing. "..shelter me?" He asked and she nodded. "Why?"

"Because as much as I hate to paraphrase Bella Swan, this house is Switzerland. As long as I am in this house, and as long as you haven't done anything to harm me or mine, you're safe here." She smiled softly. "You understand?" At last, his breathing had approached a normal pace. He nodded slowly, reclining back against the pillows. "Now, go back to sleep." His eyes scanned the ceiling again.

"I'm not sure if—" He winced as another thunderclap resounded through the air.

"The rain will come." She said softly. "It'll sooth the thunder's fury... connect the angry sky to the lonely earth." Almost as if responding to her words, the tiny tap-tap-tap of rain against the tin roof started to sound before it was joined by chorusing droplets. "See? Doesn't it sound nice?" He nodded absently. "Want me to tell you a story?" she asked.

He chuckled softly but nodded. "Perhaps…that would be nice."

"I'll tell you a story you already know… so it won't keep you awake. Something you probably know better than I do." She let her voice take on a dreamy tone as she began. "In the beginning was Ginnungagap, the great emptiness...the unending void." He smiled and nodded, so she continued. "It was a region so vast, that it went on in all directions forever with room for a billion universes. No one knows the secret of creation, but billions of eons before our world was formed, two distinctive regions came into being. The realms of fire and ice. There is Muspellheim, the realm of fire. It is a place of dreadful light and heat. Only its natives, the Fire Giants, can tolerate its flames. The other realm was Niflheim, the world of awesome dark and cold. In this world are where the rivers and seas of the universe gain their origin." Almost as an afterthought, she began stroking her fingers through Loki's hair. She was surprised by her own behavior, but couldn't stop herself. Especially when he was leaning into the touch. "When the wind, rain, ice, and cold meet the heat and fire of Muspellheim in the center of Ginnungagap, a place of light, air, and warmth is born." She noticed his face become grim, but she continued.

"Where fire and ice first met, thawing drops appeared. Beneath the melting ice lay a Giant named Aurgelmir Ymir, or Ymir as his offspring call him. Ymir lay sleeping for eons while the elements that composed him mixed. The water, snow, ice, clay, cinder, ash, and poison from the waters of Elivagar ... After some time, his body solidified and he began to sweat. Under his left arm there grew a couple, male and female Giants. One of his legs begot a six-headed giant son with the other. These first creatures were to found the races of the Ice and Mountain Giants. Elsewhere in Ginnungagap, another being had been formed. This was the giant cow called Audhumla. Audhumla was formed at the same time as Ymir, but none of the poison of Elivagar was added into her creation. From her udders ran four rivers of milk that fed Ymir. No grass or trees were growing, so Audhumla fed herself by licking salty ice. And then, something strange began to happen. After one day of licking salty ice blocks, she freed a man's hair from the ice. After two days, his head appeared. On the third day the whole man was released from the ice. The man's name was Buri. He was huge and powerful and awesome to see. Buri had a son named Bor. Bor married Bestla, the daughter of a Giant, with whom he had three sons, Odin, Vili, and Vé. Odin, in association with his brothers, is the ruler of heaven and earth. He is the greatest and most famous of all Gods."

Loki blinked rapidly, looking at her in awe. "Are these your legends?" She could tell he was starting to get very tired, but somehow he was still making himself stay awake.

She smiled. "The Norse legends of creation.." she paused, trying to gauge his mood. "There's more." He nodded, and she wondered how someone could be weary and eager at the same time.

"Odin, Vili and Vé quarrel with their loathsome neighbors the Giants… and during their war, Odin and his brothers killed the Giant Ymir. His blood rushed out in a great tide, drowning most of the giants, except for one… The three brothers carried all of Ymir's remains to the middle of Ginnungagap and created a world they called Midgard from his body. Midgard, for it was the middle realm. Ymir's blood became the sea and lakes. His skull became the cover of the sky which was set over the earth. Ymir's brains were tossed into the air, and became clouds. Then sparks and burning embers from Muspellheim were placed in the middle of Ginnungagap to give light to Midgard. They named the stars and set their paths. Ymir's skeleton became the mountains of Midgard. His teeth and jaws became rocks and pebbles. His flesh was ground into dirt in the great mill Grottekvarnen. Ymir's hair became trees. Maggots appeared in Ymir's flesh and became Dwarves, who had human understanding and the appearance of men, but lived in the earth. Under each corner of the sky the sons of Buri put a Dwarf. The four Dwarves are called Austri of the East, Vestri for the West, Nordri in the North, and Sudri for the South."

There was a long moment of silence before Loki spoke. "So…" he began sluggishly. "...your legends say that Ymir began the Jötunn and the Æsir?" he said dazedly.

Theresa nodded. "Yes. And then, with his entire body, Midgard was made." She said with a smile. "It is a fantastic story."

"Do you believe it could be true?" He asked, sounding adorably child-like. He seemed completely comfortable now that the thunder had all but stopped and only the sound of the heavy rain intruded.

"I have Loki Lie-Smith in my bed." She said with a tiny smile. "At this point, I'm liable to believe anything's possible." He gave a halfhearted chuckle at that. "Go to sleep now, Loki. You'll feel much better in the morning." He nodded weakly even as his eyes were closing.

Theresa eased away from his bedside and stood looking down at him. For all his mischief and malice, he looked like a lost child really. She wondered how long he'd been craving simple contact… something that wasn't fury and battle. She sighed, picking up her cell phone and lazing back on the longue. Only 2:30 a.m.? She hunkered down for a long night. She'd let him sleep as long as he needed.

* * *

I sighed as I looked at the stack of papers on my desk that I had to have done for Mr. Stark. I shook my head and decided to take the rest of the night off and finish the papers tomorrow.

As I straightened up around my desk, I heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!" I called as I turned to put stray files back in the filing cabinet.

I made sure everything was in alphabetical order and turned just in time to see Mr. Stark drunkenly stumble in to my office.

"The deadbolt system is up and running. You should come out and celebrate with me!" Mr. Stark said excitedly.

I chuckled at the pathetic sight and said, "It looks like you've done enough celebrating for the both of us."

"C'mon." he scoffed, trying to lean himself up against the doorway. He slipped and tried again. I cracked up with laughter and walked up to him.

"How about we stay in? You're too drunk to act civil in public."

Mr. Stark laughed and put his hand on my cheek, making me look up at him. "When have I ever acted civil in public?"

This was true. Although, I haven't personally known Mr. Stark for very long, I had seen some of his frivolous behavior on the news.

"Look, it's great that the deadbolt system is working. Really, it's fantastic. I'm just not in a drinking mood. Why not go drinking with Steve?"

"That American-made pansy can't get drunk!" Mr. Stark scoffed, crossing his arms. He then stumbled a bit in to the hallway, laughing as he fell backwards.

"Okay, fun guy, let's get you to your room." I said, grabbing a hold of his arm.

Still holding on to Mr. Stark, I closed my office door behind us and locked it.

"We should go out." Mr. Stark insisted again. "Just you and me."

"Why me?" I asked, struggling with him up the staircase to his bedroom.

When we got up to the kitchen, I saw a bottle of wine on the kitchen island, along with two wine glasses.

"Is this for us?" I wondered aloud.

"Yes." Mr. Stark said, stumbling to the island. He looked back at me, as if he'd forgotten I was standing here, and grabbed my arm, walking me to one of the stools. He pulled it out for me and grinned, obviously proud that he still had at least some tact in his drunken stupor. I was impressed, as well.

"Well, I suppose I could drink a couple glasses." I convinced myself, eying the wine.

"Great!" Mr. Stark shouted, pouring us a glass each.

Before I took a drink, I asked, "Where is everybody, anyway?"

"I told them all to go out and have fun." Mr. Stark replied before gulping down his share of the smooth liquid. "I didn't want them to bother us. Although, before they left, Clint wanted to have a few drinks, so he could spend less money at the bar, so he and I drank before they all left. You were still working. Besides," He poured another glass of wine. "we don't get enough alone time."

"We're boss and employee." I pointed out. "Are we supposed to get alone time?"

"Why not?" He winked.

I slowly sipped at my wine as Mr. Stark went on about other possibilities of securing Avengers HQ. I thought to myself how this has been one of my dreams for the longest time; sitting alone with Mr. Stark, just chatting. I had admired Tony Stark for as long as I could remember. It was the happiest day of my life when I got the job to work directly under him. And now, the man of my dreams has invited me to drink with him. Could this be the start of a serious relationship? I knew how Mr. Stark was with women, but perhaps he liked me enough and would be willing to have a steady relationship. My heart swelled at the idea, but my train of thought was broken when he started mentioning mutants.

"I'm sorry?" I said, not catching his full rant. "What about mutants?"

"I said that maybe we could start building technology that could detect mutants. We could recruit strong mutants to join our team of Avengers."

"You like mutants?" I asked curiously.

"I find them interesting," he said coyly, looking past me.

I smiled and finished my second glass of wine. Since Mr. Stark isn't against mutants, maybe our relationship really could work.

I poured us both another glass of wine, got up and grabbed the scones that Natasha likes, and listened intently on more of Mr. Stark's ideas.

* * *

I giggled as Mr. Stark stumbled to his room. Carrying me was making it even more difficult, but he insisted.

"You're going to hurt us both! Let me down and lead you; I'm not as drunk as you are!"

Mr. Stark made a face, as if he were offended by my offer. I giggled more as we finally made it to his bedroom. We had been chatting and drinking for a while, and no one had come home yet. Mr. Stark suggested we go to his room and continue talking, just in case everyone had decided to come back. He said he still wanted to be alone with me. I still couldn't figure out why, but I wasn't complaining.

After Mr. Stark closed his bedroom door, he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close.

"Have I ever told you how pretty you are?" he asked sweetly.

I chuckled and said, "No, you haven't. But it's nice to hear."

"You're very pretty." he said again, wrapping both his arms around my waist.

My heart started pounding. Somewhere in the depths of my drunken haze, I realized where this was going. Tony Stark DID love me. I pushed myself up on the tip of my toes and brought my face close to him.

"And you are incredibly handsome." I gushed.

"Are you a good kisser?" He asked, grinning.

"Are you willing to find out?"

He nodded, wrapping his arms around me tighter, closing the space between us.

And with that Mr. Stark kissed me passionately on the lips. His breath reeked of wine, but I didn't care. I kissed back with just as much force, pinning him up against the wall.

"You're an amazing kisser. What else are you good at?" He asked. He grinned again, silently egging me on.

I eyed him and started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his (chest piece). I only quickly glanced at it, remembering how Mr. Stark told me once that he was somewhat embarrassed of it.

Before I thought to do anything else, Mr. Stark picked me up and gently placed me on his bed. He looked deeply in to my eyes and started to kiss me again. He gently ran his hand up my thigh, leaving his hand at my waist line, his fingers curling around the top of my pantyhose.

"Go ahead." I whispered in to his ear.

I was ready for this. Sure, I could easily push him off of me and leave to go to bed by myself, but, I loved this man too much to let an opportunity like this slip by.

I let out a soft moan as Mr. Stark started to undress me. I pulled his pants off as I felt his warm breath wander from my neck back to my lips. We passionately made out, his lips parting and our tongues dancing, his hands slowly wandering and caressing my body.

I shuddered as he suddenly got up to grab a condom. I was shaking from suddenly becoming cold, having had his body heat against me, and also from the excitement of the moment. I was absolutely enthralled. I pulled Mr. Stark back on top of me when he got back to his bed.

As bliss rushed through my body, I thought to myself how I unquestionably didn't want this moment to end.

* * *

**... yes. That is how we chose to end this chapter. We'd like to point out at this point that we did warn you o..o**


	9. Chapter 9

**Glitch**: Hi.

**MsMoon**: ...

**Glitch**: Wot?

**MsMoon**: ... So, hello. I am MsMoon.

**Glitch**: And I am Glitch!

**MsMoon**: And we are the Knights of Shiloh responsible for this literary work.

**Glitch**: We kinda figured it was about time we introduced ourselves individually

**MsMoon**: Yus.

**Glitch**: So… uh….hi.

**MsMoon**: Yus… I suppose… I mean, we should probably be more specific about who we are and what we do..uh.. Glitch here is responsible for Elizabeth.

**Glitch**: Yes! I write Elizabeth!

**MsMoon**: And everything in first person. If it's in first person POV, then it's probably Glitch's doing.

**Glitch**: It's my specialty.

**MsMoon**: Indeed. As for myself.

**Glitch**: You're Mother Theresa :3

**MsMoon**: …uh… yeah. I write Theresa.

**Glitch**: And anything in third person…and you add stuff onto my stuff too, akshully ..

**MsMoon**: Yeah -..-' But, you know… half the time you're busy, and uh… you don't always… you know… get stuff done.

**Glitch**: Hey, I'm the one who works!

**MsMoon**: Yes…

**Glitch**: If I'm the one that's bringing home the bacon, the least you can do is fry it up in a pan!

**MsMoon**: …you're going to give people false assumptions about this relationship…

**Glitch**: …

**MsMoon**: …

**Glitch**: Right.

**MsMoon**: Yes. So!

**Glitch**: Hi!

**MsMoon**: -..- Hi.

**Glitch**: We will have another chapter up soon! There's just so much going on right now.

**MsMoon**: That's right. Glitch works part time and she's also a full time student. She also draws artwork for us both because I can't do any art worth anything.

**Glitch**: Yeah, but you're good with the words…

**MsMoon**: I use my words? :)

**Glitch**: Yeah :3 Yeah you do the words proper.

**MsMoon**: So…yeah…

**Glitch**: Hi! :D

**MsMoon**: Right :3 We, uh… we'll be putting stuffs up soon.

**Glitch**: I seen some things man…

**MsMoon**: And some stuff!

**Both**: Wouldn't recommend it! XD

**MsMoon**: OK, we're gonna stop with this now before it goes totally ADD.

**Glitch**: Please do enjoy!

* * *

I woke up to an empty bed, with a strange sense of both euphoria and soreness. I smiled, breathing in Mr. Stark's smell. Stretching, I sighed happily at last night's events.

Then reality hit me like a slap in the face.

I sat up and so many thoughts ran through my mind.

I had indeed become another notch in his headboard. I finally saw this man I've admired for what he really was. In my naivety and stupidity, hadn't believed any of the stories about him and his escapades. But I now knew all the stories were true.

I hastily checked into the security cameras that monitored the hallways... it wasn't even daylight yet, but I wanted to be certain that I wouldn't bump into anyone. Grabbing furiously at all my clothes, I hunched over the crumpled buddle and hurried down the hallway to my room. I sighed in relief once the door to my room was closed. My arms loosened, and I simply let my clothes frump to the floor. I could sort them out later, but right now… right now, all I wanted to do was dive under the covers and try to get over this intense feeling of self-loathing.

* * *

Loki opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the onset of light that peeked through the heavy curtains. He started momentarily at the foreign surroundings before remembering the events that brought him here. He had slept harder here than he had since…since Asgard. Since what felt like ages ago…before he felt the need to compare himself to everyone else, since that was whatever else seemed so focused on. He sighed softly, reminding himself not to let it fester. He carefully rolled onto his side, wincing as his sore muscles protested. He had just enough time to wonder what his host was occupying herself with before he saw the swaying feet at the end of his bed…. There was a high backed lounge there, but evidently Theresa was laying on her belly, her legs forked up into the air as her feet peddled idly in the air. His curiosity took him, and he crept forward quietly to peer down at whatever had her attention. He only found a worn and abused notebook in which she was scribbling furiously. Her handwriting was atrocious, not at all like any of ladies at court that he'd known some of it he could barely make out. He stayed where he was, wondering over her ability to zone into her own thing.

She turned a page and heatedly scrawled another paragraph before sighing. She looked up slowly staring forward with a perplexed expression. Her eyes slowly trialed to the night before fully looking up at him. Her eyes widened as she rolled slightly on her side to look up at him looming over her.

"Loki." She smiled, but then she rolled a little too far to one side and let out a squeak as she hit the ground. She squinted up at him, her smile somewhat dampened. "Good morning."

"Good morning." He said with a grin. "And what, pray, are you doing?"

"You mean what _was_ I doing?" Theresa asked as she levered herself up. "Just writing, as usual." She said with a wane smile. "It's the only thing I'm good at."

"After last night, I feel I should argue the point."

Theresa descended into a fit of giggles, and Loki really didn't know what to do with himself.

"I'm sorry." Theresa said when she finally had a bit of breath to spare. "Humans just don't function properly when they begin to get sleepy."

"You stayed up all night?" He asked, shock evident in his tone.

She nodded. "I said I would, didn't I?" she answered, finger-combing her hair back.

"I'm sorry…" Loki began, but she waved him off.

"I can sleep some other time. Besides, my sleep schedule is different from the average person." She informed as she planted a foot on the ground and began to rise. "I usually go to bed between 5 and 8 in the morning and sleep till 1 or 2 in the afternoon."

"Why?" Loki asked with a curious expression.

"The same reason any human has ever done anything. Because it works and because I can." She stretched her arms high above her head. "So, your usual clothes are still in pretty dreadful shape…" She said, making a squeamish face in the general direction of the bathroom. "I have some of my dad's old clothes that you could use."

He eyed the folded pile of what he'd arrived in yesterday. Relocating from one place to the other was one thing, but mending something that had been torn to tatters? Well, that took time to spin some clever magic… Funny, he didn't remember her folding it last night. She must've done it in the night to keep herself occupied. Still, he was in no shape to mend his clothing right now, and considering Theresa's reaction to his lack of clothing last night… well, he had few options.

"I'd be much obliged."

After a bit of rummaging in the bottom of a closet, Theresa pulled out a plastic bin with several pairs of shirts and pants. "Um… I'm thinking they might be a bit big on you, actually." She said with a smirk. "Daddy wasn't a small man." She observed. Finally she laid out a green and black plaid button-up shirt and some dark over-all jeans, the knees of which were so worn they were nearly holy.

"What were you writing?" Loki asked absently as he eyed the bottom half of that ensemble critically.

"Hm?… oh. Uh. Just a scene that popped into my head. Normally, I only write down snippets of things this early in the morning, and I get around to typing them up in the afternoon." She sighed. "I'll just, uh… step out and let you change." She said, her left hand reaching up to scratch the back of her neck while her right hand scratched her left elbow…it was an interesting knot that she'd twisted herself into. "Eggs and sausage, ok?"

He nodded. "I'm sure I'll enjoy anything you prepare." He said diplomatically.

Theresa scurried off to the kitchen to start cooking. She tried not to think of the fact that this had gone well beyond coercion and straight into aiding and abetting. Biscuits in the oven, sausage patties on the flat griddle, beating up some eggs for egg patties to go with, she'd need to take some cheese out of the fridge for sandwiches….Unfortunately, cooking was an activity she could do on autopilot, allowing her mind to wonder. She couldn't help but keep coming back to the fact that she was now genuinely concerned for Loki… she may even break conventional mores as well as established laws just to make certain he was safe. The fact that he had become more important than her own sense of security was beginning to make her anxious.

She sighed as she flipped the sausage patties, making sure they would brown properly on both sides. The egg patties were firming up quite nicely. She wandered back to the table and made sure it was clear, putting the bowl of fruit she'd ordered front and center. The oven beeped, signaling that the biscuits had only a minute left. She ducked down and noticed they were turning nice and golden. She took a moment just to inhale, taking in the scent of food in the kitchen.

"Well?" She heard Loki say as he slowly entered the kitchen. "Will this suffice?" She turned to look at him and smiled. He was much taller than her father, but nowhere near as barrel-chested. The over-alls actually looked adorable on him, hanging off of him like a child playing dress-up.

"Well, you're no farmer, but it'll do in a pinch." She said with a chuckle. "Have a seat." She said, motioning to the kitchen table. Theresa had to resist the urge to help him pull out his chair and sit down, but she reminded herself that he really didn't need a 'nursemaid', as he'd said.

"So, what was it you were writing?" He asked and she smirked. Like a dog with a bone, he was.

"Oh… Just a little scene between Roderick and the elf princess Shaylin." She announced. His eyebrows hiked up very high as he eyed her taking the biscuits out of the oven.

"Uh… Yes." He said with a nod as he reached for one of the bananas in the fruit bowl. "Naturally… so this is a love scene?"

She blinked. "Not really…not at all. Though Roderick is professing his love for her, Shaylin seems less than swayed."

"Well, most ladies do require a bit of persuasion… or pursuit." He said with a half smirk.

"Speaking from experience, are we." She said with a smirk, he lowered his eyes to the table, but he was doing nothing to hide his wolfish grin. "I don't think Roderick realizes how impossible he suit is."

"I assume that she doesn't accept his affections."

"Not at all. In fact, she's warned him repeatedly to stay out of her father's territory, but he isn't exactly the type to temper himself."

"Sounds like the usual hero." Loki murmured. When Theresa looked back to the table, Loki had somehow managed to actually slice up the banana, even though she was certain he hadn't moved from the table and she hadn't given him a knife. Odd. But whatever.

"Well, it doesn't end well for him."

"Oh. The lady refuses him outright?" Loki said with a soft smile.

"…You could say that. I mean, when he declared his love for her, she gutted him and loosed her hunting hounds on him."

"I…what?" Loki's head snapped, his attention suddenly on the woman who was placing patties of egg, sausage and cheese in between the biscuits she'd just finished slicing. His eyes happened to catch the sight of her cat—Vlad, she called him—licking his chops.

"Breakfast." Theresa sang out as she placed the plate of breakfast sandwiches on the table.

"Uh…thank you." He said tentatively. He watched as she seated herself next to him, and studied how she grabbed one of the sandwiches so that he was certain he knew exactly how to consume this strange sandwich. He took one, placed his elbows on the table, and took a big bite just as she had…. It was delicious. He nodded and took another bite. "So…this scene between the would-be suitor and his vicious lady..."

She chuckled. "Well, Shaylin knows Roderick. She's observed him from afar, and she understands who his is. She learned early on that Roderick uses 'love' as a weapon to conquer women. Even if it means nothing to him, he'll tell a girl he loves her just to get under her skirt. She knows this, and he's infuriated her with his indignation over her constant refusals."

Loki's eyebrows were the most animated thing on his face as she explained this. Theresa wasn't sure why, but she enjoyed watching understanding dawn on his face, but she almost wanted to giggle at his eyebrows. She assumed this was from her keen need to sleep.

"Well, when you put it that way…" He murmured absently. "Still..it hardly gives him any chance to learn from his mistakes if you allow her to simply kill him off."

This time, it as Theresa's eyebrows that were peaking. "Maybe I can have him crawl away… become a bit of a badass and turn him into a dark horse… someone who could pose a threat to the elf kingdom…" she said with a shrug.

Loki's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Dark Horse?...I … I don't understand."

"'Dark Horse' is, uh… a colloquialism for someone who you assume is benign, but then turns out to be very skilled." She smiled. "I think it's a term that came from racing horses… Probably. Because the horses that would run their hearts out would get tired and then a dark horse would just chill in the back and burst into speed and take the lead from them." She nodded. "Seems legit." She looked over at him and grinned. "You're a bit of a dark horse, Loki."

"Am I?" Loki asked, looking to her in surprise.

"Well, everyone underestimates your capabilities, but it doesn't stop you from putting them in their place." She said with a tiny smirk. He had to smirk back at that. "So…What are your plans for today?" She asked as she rose to get some juice from the fridge.

"I feel, now that I've eaten, I definitely have the strength to leave." He said with a nod. "And you? What will you do today?"

She chuckled softly, placing glasses on the table. "Well, for now the only definite thing on the agenda is sleep." She said, pouring them both a bit of juice.

He nodded. "I'd say you've earned it." He sipped at the dark crimson liquid in the glass, his lips puckering slightly at the bitter taste. Or perhaps the contrast of the savory sausage and cheese biscuits was making the juice seem stronger than usual. It wasn't a bad flavor… very clean and rich.

"You are looking much better." She said, single finger plucking along the length of his chin as she tilted his face up so that she could exam it better. She smiled softly as she looked him over, and there was a gentle fondness in her eyes that made his stomach clench slightly…. The feeling was most curious, but he reasoned that it had been quite a while since anyone had been genuinely concerned for him.

"I…" He cleared his throat. "Thank you for…your assistance. I..." What could he say? Really? 'Thanks for the bath, see you around?' It felt odd… finding this safe place. Even more so since she really owed him nothing. She was not his kin, nor a worshiper, nor obligated to serve him in any fashion. In fact, it was quite apparent that he was often imposing on her… and yet she had guarded him quite dutifully, attended to him almost benevolently, and bantered with him effortlessly. If he was being honest (and he could do so much with himself if nothing else), he'd admit that somehow in the still and quiet while neither of them were looking, a bond had formed between them. He could _feel_ it, as tangible as anything physical. And yet this knowledge only made him feel.. awkward.

Her smile widened. "You're welcome, Loki." She said, incapable of finding his verbal clumsiness anything but adorable. "You'll have to come around some time when you're not near exhaustion. Hopefully after I've gotten some sleep."

His head tipped down slightly, smiling as he nodded. "I look forward to it." And he did. He really did.

* * *

I couldn't get up. I just couldn't bring myself to walk through this house in front of everybody to get to my office.

I turned over in my bed, looking at my calendar, and realized it was Saturday. I glanced over at my alarm clock.

8:05p.m.

"Where have I been? It's already night."

I sighed and slinked out of bed. I looked at my unkempt appearance in the mirror.

"I'm glad I'm not working today," I said to myself. "I don't feel like getting dressed."

I slipped on my house shoes and left my room. After I shut the door behind me, I looked up and down the hallway.

It was too quiet.

I sneaked up stairs to the kitchen and looked around.

"Jarvis," I said. "Where is everyone?"

"I'm afraid that is classified, Miss." Jarvis replied.

"Classified, my ass." I mumbled.

I tapped in to the Stark System to see what was so classified. I landed upon a man with an eye patch, lecturing some of the Avengers. A performance review? Interesting. It seems even my higher-ups have higher-ups. The man's tone was stern, and his over-all manner just seemed severe.

I knew an officer when I saw one. And this was an officer who looked like someone who should not be messed with. I backed out of the feed before the system could detect my handle, and found myself back in the kitchen.

I was home alone, which meant I could get some housework done without interruptions. I walked up to the sink and stood staring at the immense amount of dishes with my hands on my hips.

"Thor." I sighed.

I shook my head and started filling up one side of the sink with soap and water.

While thinking about last night's events, I washed dishes in silence. I wasn't in the mood to bust out into random song and dance while washing dishes along with the beat of a quirky song.

I'd been used. Another notch under Mr. Stark's belt, and I should have known that was going to happen. This is why his and Pepper's relationship failed. I couldn't shake the feeling that Mr. Stark didn't love me…or the fact that I'd just assumed that he did because he had been acting 'so romantic'. It's difficult to see the ugly side of someone that you've admired for so long.

After a while of monotonous dishwashing, I heard footsteps behind me, and I froze. I wasn't alone in the house after all.

"What's wrong?" I heard Natasha ask.

I whirled around, soapy water dripping from my hands.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You're doing dishes without having music blaring through the house."

I just stared.

"I know you a lot better than you think. I am a spy after all." Natasha said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your hair is a mess, you're still in your pajamas, you're not dancing around, and you're in a hurry, nearly breaking the dishes. Usually, you're well dressed, bouncy, and you take your time with chores. Hell, you practically celebrate your chores."

I turned back to the sink, my eyes welling to the brim with tears.

Natasha slowly walked next to me and started rinsing dishes.

"Talk to me." she said quietly.

"You wouldn't understand." I sniffed, still occupying myself with washing. "You've never been used."

Natasha suddenly burst out laughing.

"I've never been used? How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a SPY! I use people and people use me, that's how it goes."

She had a point.

"It's Mr. Stark." I blurted, turning to her. She stopped rinsing a coffee mug and slowly looked up at me.

"What stupid thing did he do this time?"

This made me laugh a little, but tears started to come back.

"It's really nothing." Before Natasha could protest, I looked down at her bandaged foot. "What happened?"

"Oh, I just sprained it during our last brawl with Loki; it's no big deal. I've been in my bed since then."

I blushed. "So you were here last night?"

"Yeah." she simply said, picking up another dish and cleaning it off.

"So, you knew Mr. Stark and I were here alone last night. Well, I thought we were alone."

"Actually, I thought everyone had left to go out for the night. I didn't know you two-" She trailed off. Natasha suddenly looked at me, her eyes wide as if she'd suddenly had an idea.

"You and Tony." She barely uttered.

I slowly nodded, turning from the sink. The dishes were now done, and I sat at the kitchen table to take a break before my next task. Natasha kept her injured foot hiked and stayed at the sink.

"He'll sleep with anyone," She murmured to herself. She suddenly glanced over at me. "No offense."

I nonchalantly waved my hand, dismissing her remark.

After a few minutes of silence, I said, "I just don't know what to do. I mean, work is going to be awkward now. And I feel like an idiot."

"Just act casual." Natasha told me, hobbling over to join me. She sat down before continuing. "You're going to have to continue to work with him and do what he says. Just keep playing employer and employee. I really doubt he'll mention anything. He'll sleep with someone else soon and probably forget all about the night with you. No offense, but that's just how the man works."

"I know," I groaned. "I should have seen it coming, but I've admired him for the longest time."

Natasha nodded in understanding. I glanced down at her foot again and suddenly got an idea.

"Okay, girl," I said, standing up. "You need a pedi and I need to let off some more steam. I'll help you to your room."

Before Natasha could protest, I pulled her arm around my shoulders and helped her down the stairs to her bedroom. I opened the door for her and walked her to her bed.

"Just wait here while I get my mani/pedi kit," I smiled. Natasha and I had never had girl time before. "This'll be so much fun," I gushed to myself. "Girl time with an Avenger."

As I walked down the hallway toward my room, I suddenly got light headed.

"Wha-?" I held myself up against the hallway wall. "What's going on?"

Suddenly, everything in front of me started fading in and out. Random images started going through my mind and I started to panic.

I slowly made my way to my bedroom, but I couldn't grip the doorknob when I tried opening my door. After a few attempts while random images kept surfacing, I finally managed to open my door. I knew something had to be wrong with my technopathy, so I tried tapping in to the Stark security system. When I tried, I kept seeing a red flash of an error and static kept appearing.

"Not again." I groaned before hitting my floor from collapsing.

* * *

**Glitch**: …I need to get my shit together…

**MsMoon**: .. indeed. So, yeah. There ya have it…

**Glitch**: Who's looking forward to chapter 10 :3

**MsMoon**: … next month?

**Glitch**: …oh, you're hilarious ..

**MsMoon**: I now pronounce you finished and posted...if anyone should object—

**Glitch**: NO!


	10. Chapter 10

**MsMoon**: *sigh*

**Glitch**: :|

**MsMoon**: so, we're back..kinda.

**Glitch**: -..- It's not my fault. I'm a full time student and a part time worker, and I have a tons of other stuff going on.

**MsMoon**: No one's saying it's your fault o..o

**Glitch**: You have all that free time, and that's why you always get your stuff done in like, 2 days!

**MsMoon**: .. I ... I don't get stuff done that quickly. And I have other things to occupy my time, like moving. I mean, I still have a tone of stuff that needs to be boxed up and moved at my house. But you're right, I don't work and I'm still waiting for financial aid to get it's head out of its ass so that I can go back to school. But I do have those other fics I'm kinda working on, not to mention those three original things.

**Glitch**: .. Really? Your saying that you're caught up being devoted to your Twilight fic?

**MsMoon**: Oh God, I haven't written on that in ages -..- I feel so bad for not updating that sooner. But the other one, the one sorta based around Sabertooth? I've been working on that a lot. Oh, and I was so mad at myself! I deleted my updated list of magic spells!

**Glitch**: ...uh..yeah... I hate it when that happens :|

**MsMoon**: I was so upset .. 7 pages of excel data, just gone!

**Glitch**: ...yeah, that sounds like something that'd really chaff someone who's so OCD.

**MsMoon**: You have no idea. I stayed up till 2 in the morning re-writing everything.

**Glitch**: Hey, I just figured this out. You write everything.

**MsMoon**: ...uh.. no. I don't write everything. I mean, I dabble, and I try to help you out with things.

**Glitch**: I don't think you're understanding what I'm saying.

**MsMoon**: I certainly don't have a fan fic for everything I'm a fan of, I mean... I like to eat.

**Glitch**: No, I'm saying you take over the fic.

**MsMoon**: ...

**Glitch**: yeah, effective immediately. You are in charge of this fic in its entirity.

**MsMoon**: .. you did that just so you could paraphrase Tony Stark didn't you?

**Glitch**: *pat pat* good luck. I'll be over here if you need someone to consult for scenes and stuff.

**MsMoon**: Consu...bu... You ... I... oh dear -..-

* * *

To say that I woke up wouldn't quite be right… it was more that my eyes began to focus as the black spots over them cleared away. The carpet came into view, and as I asked myself silly questions like who picked out this beige monstrosity, I realized that I'd passed out. I was normally a very healthy person, so this sudden sickness was disorienting.

I pushed myself up on my arms carefully, but the minute I tried to bear weight on my legs I felt nauseous and dizzy. This was so bizarre. I never got sick. Even when a very potent virus was going around—

My eyes widened. Virus.

"Errors detected. Begin scan, full systems analysis." I said softly. The trigger phrase worked as brilliantly as always. I found myself thanking Professor Xavier again. His 'psychic suggestion' always helped me to focus. He'd said that since my brain functioned like a computer, it would perform functions after being given certain prompts. As my own brain began the 'systems check', I found myself able to actually recall the events before my black out. I absently reached under my bed for the mani/pedi kit I'd actually come here for.

'_Systems Analysis Complete.'_ My internal computerized voice reported. _'Secondary Influence Infected.'_

"Secondary?" I whispered in confusion. "Verify—"

'_Source of Contamination: Stark System.'_

"Identify." I growled. What the hell was Stark doing now? He couldn't possibly have guessed my secret—

'_Virus. Designation: DoomWyrm.'_

"Isolate." I commanded.

I felt my consciousness slide fully into the system. The digital world was nowhere near as interesting as TV and movies had portrayed it. There were no empty spaces of green or white that bended to the will of the users. No. Just a dark world filled with 0s and 1s… figurative 0s and 1s that is. More like a feeling of absence or presence. Absence indicating a 0, and Presence indicating a 1 (and vice-versa). Normally, I would only partially infiltrate the system… I hadn't done a full on infiltration in ages; mostly, because I didn't _need _to. I was having a difficult time isolating the virus from outside the system, so there really wasn't much of a choice in the matter. There were limitations from outside the system...

I smirked. I was _Queen_ in here. With a wave of my virtual hand … I instructed the system to identify the foreign element. It obeyed without fail. I focused then on constructing a figurative 'air-tight' firewall around the virus. Worm viruses were tricky little buggers… always moving before they could be caught. I was actually very surprised when I pinned the little bastard down with minimal effort. I suppose I expected any element that had managed to infiltrate the Stark System to be more of a challenge…

"Delete." I commanded aloud, hearing my internal voice echo the command. The 0s and 1s began to dissolve as I continued to instruct the system on the best route for dismantling the virus.

The darkness of the virtual world receeded as I drew out of the system and back into my own body.

"Stark System, Analysis Check."

'_Initiating Analysis.'_ This time I was answered by Jarvis's voice. I instantly relaxed, so happy to hear that voice.

My eyes drifted down to the kit that I was currently clenching in a death grip. Crap! Natasha… My eyes drifted to the clock on my dresser….. huh… only 10 minutes had passed? At least the last timestamp recorded on my memory was 10 minutes ago.

I carefully rose to my feet. "Jarvis? How much Svedka do we have in our stores?"

The computerized voice lagged and skipped just slightly as he replied. The after effects of the virus, no doubt. I know I wasn't feeling at my best after having to deal with that. _'We currently have 3 full bottles, Miss.'_

I nodded absently. Perhaps I could ply the Russian with vodka…

* * *

Loki wasn't certain what he expected when he returned to Theresa's home… to be honest, he never really knew what to expect when it came to Theresa. What he found was ….interesting. Theresa saw seated on one of her sofa's, her legs curled up under her, her arm laying on the arm rest palm up. Her cat—not the one which was always hissing at him but the other one—was on the arm rest, laying on Theresa's forearm. The cat was licking ravenously and at the tips of Theresa's fingers while kneading at her palm.

Theresa did not seem to notice this. In fact, Theresa did not seem to notice anything whatsoever. She was staring at the wall with a completely vacant expression on her face. The cat giving Theresa's hand such violent attention looked over at him but never ceased her ministrations. He put a finger over his lips as if to convey that the cat shouldn't indicate his presence. He carefully crept forward laying the bundle of borrowed clothes upon her table, and then sat on the far end of the sofa…. Theresa never moved. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Her lips moved just slightly. It was odd to see a non-magic user doing this. It was something he often did when he wanted to cast a spell without actually reciting the necessary components of it.

He stared at Theresa's face, wondering how someone could be so far afield. He smirked wondering what it would take for her to snap out of her trance. With a wicked grin and far more grace than anyone wearing so much leather and metal should have, Loki swung himself around.

Theresa gasped, both hands coming up to grasp at her hair. One minute she was in her own world, and the next she had a grinning god of mischief in her lap. Loki chuckled up at her.

"oh…my …Loki." She said between pants of breath. "What…" He felt her thighs shift beneath his head, conveying how uncomfortable she was.

"You were far afield." Loki said, still smiling up at her. "What were you thinking of while so deep in thought?"

Theresa sighed, her fingers digging into the arm rest when she realized that Loki had no intentions of moving. It was almost cute… Him, lying across her sofa with his head in her lap.

"I… I give myself some time. About an hour or so.. to just day dream." Loki blinked at this explanation. "I'm a writer, as I've said." She said with a tiny smile. "To be a writer you have to do a few things in order to enrich the voice you lend to your craft… Your voice, which should be uniquely your own." Her face became serious. "You need to read. You need to write. You need to exercise your creative mind. And you need to give yourself time to let whatever story you're trying to tell develop." She smiled. "Actual writing isn't all about putting words to paper. You have to know…" She seemed to tense, her gaze sweeping the ceiling as if the word she needed was there. "narrative." She said finally. "You have to find your voice, but in order to correctly express the actual narrative you want… you have to see what else is out there." She smiled down at him. "I love story telling." She said. "I like books and plays and movies and… and art." She chuckled. "Anything that tells a story, anything that expresses the creator's innate wishes."

"So… you were day dreaming about…what this time?"

She sighed but smiled down at him almost ruefully. "Oddly enough, tricksters have been on my mind of late."

His eyes practically lit up. "You don't say."

She laughed softly. "I was thinking about what you said the last time you were here too. About the character Roderkick? The more I think about it, the more I think you may be right… it just feels so unsatisfying to simply kill him off." She shrugged, absently placing her palm gently against the top of Loki's head, her fingers forking into his hair and running along his hairline. It was a simple gesture, one she was almost unconscious of making. She probably wouldn't have noticed it herself if Loki's form hadn't gone lax. He let a simple deep breath sift through his nose, his eyes closing in contentment. She smiled, unable to find the interaction anything but wonderful. "I was thinking… maybe instead of her gutting him and her hounds finishing him off, she could just wound him and sic them on him. He could stumble away into a cross roads, and with the amount of blood spilled in the center of the cross road…" She shrugged. "It may be enough to catch the attention of a…" she grinned. "..supernatural sort."

"Ah. Insert Trickster here." He said with a grin.

"Indeed." She smiled. "But I don't like any of my characters to be simple, or two dimensional." She said with a simple shake of the head. "So! I was trying to think of a backstory and the basic character traits of who this mysterious trickster could be. Or if he even is a trickster at all. I was thinking of making him more of the mischievous sort." She said with an absent shrug. "Like Puck or maybe even the Goblin King."

Loki blinked. "Who are these two characters? Are they yours?"

Theresa's eyebrows were nearly lifting into her hair line. "Uh, no." She said, baffled. "I'd be _quite_ the rich little bitch if they were" She chuckled softly. "No, Puck is a trickster in Celtic folklore and a central character in one of Shakespeare's plays." She smiled at the memory. "My favorite of his works actually. And Jareth, the Goblin King, is a wonderful character from Jim Henson's Labyrinth." When she saw no reaction or recognition to the words she was saying she slowly asked. "You've…never heard of them…?"

"I have not." Loki said simply.

"Oh …that will have to change. Maybe not today. But it _will_ change." She said with such certainty that Loki almost felt abashed for not knowing what she was taking about.

"…I suppose so…"

For a moment the two of them were silent. Neither one wanted to say much more on the subject, but they didn't want to move on to something different or change the mood between them.

"Loki?" Theresa asked, her brow pinching together in concern. "Is something wrong?"

Loki's face was awash with innocence. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, firstly, you did just answer a question with a question." Loki's blinked at that. "That's a clear evasive maneuver if ever I saw one. And secondly, you seem very keen on keeping the focus on me and what I'm doing, even to the point of invading my space." Though, now that she thought about it, it wasn't too uncomfortable to have him so near. In fact it was almost pleasant. Perhaps she just needed to get more accustomed to it. "Third, being psychic and all, I do tend to pick up tiny cues like that, and lastly, the first three really should be enough."

He was silent for a moment, but the mask of innocence (which was another clue that something was amiss) seeped away to reveal a thoughtful expression. "Just…" He sighed, sitting upright with his back to her. "Thor.."

Theresa's eyebrows arched up, this time in concern. "What about him?"

"I.. I happened across him while he was out with his mortal woman the other day." Loki confessed.

"How did that go?" Theresa prompted, not even bothering to ask how someone could possibly 'happen' to meet up with the Norse god of thunder while he was out and about.

Loki's head turned just slightly so that Theresa could just make out his profile. "He still doesn't trust me…." He chuckled. "I told him he shouldn't. That I didn't trust myself much lately with how jumbled things seemed." He shook his head. "He said that he wanted to, and I said I wanted him to as well but…" Loki turned so that he could look at Theresa. "I… I find it difficult to explain, Theresa. I _do_ want to be close to Thor, but… but a part of me understands that he very well could fall back into the same pattern just because we are close again."

Theresa took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "You taught him a little too well, I think." She said at last.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki asked, needing her to contention on that tangent.

"Well, you wanted Thor, your father, the whole of Asgard to learn that you weren't weak. That you were worthy of their consideration. That they shouldn't underestimate you, or anyone just because they aren't so blatantly strong." She sighed, her eyes meeting Loki's squarely. "That they shouldn't be so foolhardy as to simply trust someone who begs for trust." She gave Loki a contrite smile. "You taught Thor to be careful… perhaps a little better than you'd hoped."

"So it would seem." Loki said with a humorless chuckle. Theresa settled a comforting hand over Loki's knuckles.

"It will take time to rebuild that bridge, Loki… but it will be worth it."

Loki nodded, the silence settling over them. He knew that. He knew, deep down that Thor would always love him… that he'd always try for him. That was what mattered. Thor would _try_… and if Loki tried as well… If he could meet him halfway.. Well, that meant that all was not lost.

"It's… odd." Loki murmured. "When I'm away, I find the boundaries of my sanity slipping. I know who I am, and I am in control of what I can do… but things seem so chaotic. When I'm here, there is such a steady peace."

Theresa smiled. "I don't know if I'd call my house a peaceful one…" she chuckled, looking down at her cat. The beast had darted away when Loki had startled Theresa, but it was currently laying in a legless formation against Theresa's ankles… watching them contently. "I keep the strangest hours, inspiration strikes at the most odd times, I say and do the most bizarre things." She listed with a smile. She wasn't making fun of herself or depreciating her habits in any way, she was simply stating what was.

"Yes, but the disarray in your house is the chaos of creative whimsy." Loki countered. "It's in accordance with having a mind such as you possess…" He paused for a moment surveying her carefully. "I find it hard to believe that you spend so much time in such isolation." He confessed at last. "Does no one come to visit you?"

"Of course someone comes to visit me, Loki." Theresa giggled. "_You're_ here all the time." She reminded.

He made a sullen face before clarifying. "I meant, do you have no friends or relatives that come to see how you are?"

Theresa's mouth slipped sideways as she thought about that question. "I do have family and friends, but they all have their own lives." She shrugged. "I'm independent in my reclusiveness." She said with a shrug. "Elizabeth was only staying until she could afford her own place after she'd found herself a job. I do have a cousin that I love dearly." She said with a bright smile. "She's a brilliant artist and writer. She has quite a few things published as well. In fact!" Theresa's eyes began to sparkle. "She's my illustrator."

"I… what?"

"oh, I cannot draw worth a damn." Theresa said, half loathing and half amused. "But Fally can, and she's _amazing_. I tell her how I like things, and she draws for me. I think…" Her eyes darted to the side. "Except for my first publication, I'm pretty sure all of my books are illustrated by her."

"So, she visits you?"

"Well… I really only leave the house once in a very great while… and even then I'm forcing myself to." Theresa shook her head. "With the modern convinces of technology and the internet, I don't really _need_ to leave my house, but… Well, after my parents passed, I started going to her place for family-type holidays." She said with a shrug. "Or I'll invite her and her hubby over, if they're longing to get away from his big family." She said with a smile.

"It seems uneven." Loki remarked. "The relationships you have."

Theresa eyed him skeptically. "Really? You're going to say that to me?" Loki's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Loki, I'm in the business of storytelling." She reminded. "You've told me all about how you and your brother quarreled in Asgard, but anyone can see that there's a _biiiiig_ hole in your story." Loki looked away guiltily. "You haven't told me anything about what happened after, or how you made your way to earth."

"I _do not_ intend to discuss that." Loki interrupted her abruptly.

"And you'll notice I haven't bothered asking." Theresa continued.

He looked back at her, half guilty and half challenging. "You're psychic, or so you say… why don't you simply reach inside and take the answers you want?"

"Yes, I am psychic.… I could just enter your mind and take the story you aren't telling me." Theresa said as she rose. "But from my slight brushes against your psyche, I've already gleaned that there are tattered edges left in your mind from the experience." Loki whirled to face her fully, glaring upat her. "Whatever it was that happened made you regress to a state that is nigh on primal…" She surveyed him carefully, concern and sympathy edging onto her tone. "You were afraid for your survival, but not just that… Something horrific happened, and in turn you behaved as a true horror. Perhaps mischief was something you managed in your time at Asgard, but there…in that dark place, you learned mayhem." She smiled sadly. "I believe in you though." She announced. "And I believe you'll share what happened to you when you're ready… to whoever you feel most comfortable with. Maybe that'll be me. Maybe it'll be Thor." He chuckled at that disbelievingly. "But the mind is an incredible thing… it will heal itself given the proper conditions."

"You're saying… that you think I'll be as I was?" he asked, disbelief tinting his tone.

"Heaven's no." Theresa said. "I'm saying that all our experiences teach us, shape us, and make us stronger." She corrected. "I'm saying that eventually, you'll accept what happened and learn to bear up under the strain of it." There was a beat of heavy silence between them in which Loki considered her words. "You know…Now that I'm thinking about it… It could be that _I'm_ the reason you find this place so peaceful."

Loki blinked, his face slightly muddled. "Well of course…" He murmured.

"No, I mean that subconsciously I am using my abilities." Theresa made a face as she thought it over. Clearly she wasn't pleased with the concept. "I'm not one for fighting, generally. Since we first met, it could be that subconsciously my mind is saying to yours 'Peace! Peace!' and yours is simply saying, 'Oh, peace… Haven't had a cuppa that in a while.'" Theresa shrugged. "You could say that my best offense is my defense in this case."

Loki considered all of her words, a very contemplative look on his face… and then he laughed. It was a soft laugh, not booming like his brother's. He eased back, resting against the cushions on the back of the sofa and looked over at her. "I suppose I can't really fault you for that."

"I should hope not." Theresa murmured.

"You're a strange woman." Loki said with a soft smile.

"You aren't telling me anything I haven't heard, bucko."

He chuckled. "I find I like it very much."

"Now that is rare to hear." She said smiling back at him. "So… You have any tortured villain things on your grocery list for today?"

"Not at present." He said with a halfhearted chuckle.

"Good. I'd like to introduce you to someone."

Loki's face was slightly apprehensive. "Oh?"

"Yes." She said with a firm nod. "His name is Puck. He's a mischievous trickster and court jester to Oberon, King of the Fey." Theresa smirked over her shoulder at him before surveying her DVD collection. "I think you two should meet." She said, pulling out the case for _A Midsummer Night's Dream_.

* * *

**MsMoon**: *lets out a deep breath* ok... so. My first time writing this on my own :| I really hope I portrayed Elizabeth correctly. I guess I can stop doing the whole chat-style identifier in the beginning and the ends here. I mean, if it's going to be me, so.. So yeah. Uh. It's really weird that we just introduced ourselves individually last chapter, and in this chapter we've gone from co-writers to writer and consultant o..o But you know, if anyone has any feedback, or if there's something you really liked, or if you have your own ideas about things you'd like to see Elizabeth or Theresa do, let us know :3 We're always interested in hearing what you guys think! I'll try to buckle down and get the next chapter out soon! Later guys!


	11. Chapter 11

**MsMoon**: Aaaand we're back.

**Glitch**: We're back! :D

**MsMoon**: Wow… take a break for a month and it's suddenly turns into 4 months -..-

**Glitch**: Yeah… a lot happened over the break. Finals. Travel. Jobs. Holidays. Reapplying for college. Getting into college.

**MsMoon**: Or in my case, being denied financial aid again :|

**Glitch**: Yeah.

**MsMoon**: And I mopped the floor with NaNoWriMo, but it left with me a crippling inability to focus on words for a while.

**Glitch**: Yeah, you didn't write much of anything once December hit.

**MsMoon**: And my story for NaNo is still unfinished even though it's gone like 65,000 words ..

**Glitch**: Wow…

**MsMoon**: I knoooow…. But that isn't important. What's important is that we were still in touch and collaborating the entire time…

**Glitch**: Yeah…it just took this long to get back in gear.

**MsMoon**: But we're back on track. So, here's the next chapter :) And please do enjoy.

**Glitch**: Peace out!

* * *

As the Avengers were all sitting down for dinner in the dining room, I was at the stove, finishing my famous homemade stew. I smiled as I fondly remembered how Theresa used to always love my homemade stew. I decided that soon, we needed to get together, and I'd make a batch for her.

I turned the stove off, and before I lifted the pot to move it, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Hey, Grumpy Gus, how's dinner going?" Clint cooed.

I smiled and went about my business. "It's coming along nicely. I think you'll love it."

"Hey," he said softly. Clint walked closer behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "You okay?"

"Yes, Clint, I'm fine." I tried wriggling from his grip. I wasn't one to pour out my emotions, and even if I did want to, it would just make me more upset.

Clint wrapped his arms around me tighter. "Talk to me. I love you and I want to help. You're my favorite non-Avenger."

I started to chuckle at how silly Clint was being. He was always the one to make me smile. While Clint was still clinging to me, Mr. Stark strolled in to the kitchen. He started rummaging through the silverware drawer, seemingly ignoring us.

"I could just kiss on you all day," Clint said dotingly, still clinging. He started swaying me back and forth with him and I started laughing.

"Well, if you want my sloppy seconds," Mr. Stark muttered, turning to us.

Suddenly, it were as if time had stopped.

Clint stopped swaying with me, and we both stared at Mr. Stark. I then glanced over at everyone else in the dining room, and they were all staring at Mr. Stark, as well. Thor looked absolutely shocked and Steve was fuming.

No one moved. No one said a word.

In the midst of the silence, I reached back and aggressively slapped Mr. Stark across the face.

"No." I simply said.

Steve then got out of his chair and stomped toward us.

"He's out of line!" Steve yelled.

I turned to Steve and wagged a finger in his face. "He know's what he's done and he knows it was wrong. I've got this."

Steve stepped away, hands up, as if he were surrendering, and gave me a "yes, ma'am" look.

I turned back to my stew and carted it to the kitchen. As I walked away, I noticed Natasha and Clint were gone, Bruce slinked away to his lab, and Steve and Mr. Stark were still standing in the kitchen.

"Is anyone going to eat?" I asked.

I turned around and saw Steve glaring at Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark glared at me in such a way that was almost pouty, like a child not getting his way. He whirled around and went down toward the science lab. Steve sighed and sat down at the table.

"I've been waiting to try this," Steve said politely, not looking me in the eye.

Thor was still seated at the table, looking rather confused.

"I feel like I should be angry, but I am not sure at what."

Steve looked over at Thor and shook his head, signifying that Thor should keep his mouth shut.

I put the stew on the table and sat down across from them both.

"Eat up," I said blandly.

Steve, Thor, and I ate in silence for a while. After eating a good portion, Steve stood up without saying a word. He then walked over and quietly sat down next to me. As I looked up at him, Steve wrapped his huge arms around me and, before I knew it, I found myself buried in his chest, sobbing.

* * *

Vlad hissed. That's how it always was. Theresa groaned inwardly, wishing she was wearing something a little more … concealing. Usually she wore shorts and a sleeveless shirt or leggings under a shirt that could double as a tent. Currently she was wearing a dress that bore a blue tie-died pattern . It started very light blue, fading in its color until the very bottom which hit just above her knees. That area was a richer dark blue. The top, around the bust, was very elastic with a single cord that looped around her neck. The rest of the dress was free floating fabric. She liked how light and airy it felt and the way it swayed and moved as she walked.

"My, my, my…" Loki murmured. "..don't we look fetching today."

Theresa looked over her shoulder, giving him a withering glare. She let out a long growling scoff. "_Don't_ give me that look. I don't need your wolf's eyes devouring me…. Not yet anyway."

She saw surprise light his face before he laughed in delight. It was amazing how open and enchanting his face could be…when he just relaxed and _let_ himself be.

"The men of your world must run to keep up with you." He said with a charming smile.

She turned her back on him, closing the large tupperware dish that she'd just filled with soup. "Now we both know you're lying." She said tersely.

His face softened into curiosity. "I assure you I am being entirely sincere." She sent him a level stare and he nodded. "I imagine you don't allow your suitors an easy pursuit."

She scoffed again and put her dishes in the fridge. "And I assure you, no one is pursuing me."

"Hm. I had wondered." He mused, looking around. "While I wouldn't say your home is overly feminine, it lacks a masculine touch."

"Ya don't say." She drawled, walking past him into the living room. He followed though more slowly.

"So, you don't have a lover then." Loki said, and his statement sounded somewhat uncertain. It was almost a question. She actually laughed in response.

"I'm afraid I spend entirely too much time with unicorns."

His face puckered in confusion. "I sense a hidden meaning in these words."

"Please sit with me, Loki. You know there's no need to stand on ceremony in my home."

"Do not think you will distract me." Loki advised as he perched on the edge of one of her recliners. "Firstly, exactly why would you be preoccupied with unicorns?"

Theresa smiled her head cocking to the side slightly. "You don't know…the significance of…I mean, what unicorns usually represent?"

"Perhaps I only want you to clarify." He countered, his eyes narrowing.

Her eyes narrowed, her lips puckering into a tiny 'o'. "Silver. Tongue." She said with a big smile as though it were admirable. Loki lowered his eyes but when his gaze returned to her face, he seemed smugly pleased with himself. She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm sure I don't need to educate Your Grace on the symbolism behind the unicorn." She jutted out her chin to a crystal unicorn figurine on the end table between them. "Unicorns symbolize purity. Namely chastity…synonymous with the Madonna. The virgin."

He was nodding slightly as she spoke, his eyes transfixed on the figurine. At the end of this explanation he froze. Suddenly his eyes went zing straight to hers. She felt the need to keep talking while surprise settled onto his features.

"You know, the unicorn also symbolizes the Moon… and Spring. It's why the lion and the unicorn are usually paired together. The lion being both the sun and Summer. That old rhyme, the lion and the unicorn fighting for the crown, that's all about how the sun rules the sky and how when summer comes, gentle spring has to bow out." She said nodding lightly.

"Wait a moment here!" He said, eying her carefully. "…You? ..no…" He said with shock. "_You're_ a virgin?" he asked almost aghast.

Her eyebrows had hiked up high, a deceptively dull expression (which usually bellied danger) on her face. "Fancy that I'm a strumpet then, do you?" She asked archly.

"No!" he corrected quickly. "No, no, no. I'd…I'd just assumed that… someone had taken the time to properly appreciate you."

Theresa chuckled. "Very nice save." He relaxed visibly at her words.

"I just… as I understand it, chastity is not in practice among the majority of Midgard."

She nodded, faking a weary sigh. "And I try _so_ _hard_ to conform to average Midgardian stereotypes." Theresa countered.

He chuckled at that, looking slightly sheepish. "I confess… Due to your previous skittish behavior…I may have assumed that perhaps.." He eyed her hesitantly. "..perhaps a previous bed mate had done something to harm you."

In that moment Theresa had to appreciate the way his face contorted in concern; the way his voice lowered as though he was afraid his words would harm her; the way his eyes would shift so as not to pin her into place.

Theresa smiled softly. "No." She said simply. "I've never been hurt in a romantic fashion." She chuckled sarcastically, but almost instantly her back seized up, her spine going ramrod straight. She shuddered as the cold laced up her spine. "Oh fiddle sticks." She shuddered.

"Are you unwell?" He asked, obviously concerned.

"I.." She finally relaxed, slouching till her forehead nearly touched her knees. "Peanut butter." She spat as though it were an expletive. "You know most people are at least afforded the luxury of lying to _themselves_." She shook her head. "I should rephrase that." She said, holding up a hand. "No man has physically harmed me in a romantic fashion."

Loki looked away before looking back to her. "I don't understand why you needed to be specific."

Theresa sighed. "I saw my older brother go through a lot of things… Bad experiments and relationships that seemed like really bad experiments." She shook her head. "When I was really young I promised myself I wouldn't bother to risk myself for someone who wasn't willing to risk themselves for me…" Her tone dulled. "That's a simple thing to say, but it's not the whole story. If I'm being entirely honest, I'd say that keeping that vow was incredibly easy."

"I… I still don't understand." Loki said.

"No one ever wanted me, so it was easy to remain chaste." She looked away. "Oddly enough, that kind of hurts."

Loki was shaking his head. "That cannot be true."

Theresa barely managed not to roll her eyes, but she knew that some of her expression wasn't controlled. "Well, I've got 31 years of experience that states otherwise." She said standing up. She needed to busy herself otherwise she'd get depressed.

"Theresa, that just cannot be." Loki repeated adamantly, rising to follow her.

"No. That could not be for you, perhaps." Theresa said, turning back to face him. "You are very, very desirable and attractive and handsome, and none of those are all the same things, mind you." Loki blinked, then looked away almost as though he was embarrassed.

"I…hadn't thought about that."

Theresa continued before he could present a counter-argument. "Not to mention, that for all your oddity (if one could even call it that), for all that makes you different, you are _still_ Odin's son. Whether you accept that or not doesn't really matter, he still claims you. A prince of Asgard wouldn't ever be entirely unwanted. I, on the other hand, am an unrelenting jigsaw piece that refuses to cut the odd corners to fit into society's square hole."

He shook his head. "You will not dissuade me from this conversation. Now, unless you've only ever encountered the visually impaired, someone must have wanted to pursue you."

Theresa's arms flung out as if she was trying to shrug off the entire world. "Well, maybe that's even sadder, because then it means that it was either a passing fancy or that whoever may've seen me as a romantic prospect decided I wasn't worth the trouble."

"You're being ridiculous." Loki grumbled.

"Loki, this is painful for me." Theresa said wearily as she messaged her brow. "It's like…like…" she sighed. "Have you ever heard of World of Warcraft?"

"What?" he asked befuddled.

"It's a game. A massive online game that many people play together." She sighed. "There's a character in the game called Nozdormu. He's the leader of the Bronze dragon flight. Each of the flights were given something to govern over. Nozdormu was given time… he was the keeper of fate and destiny, and to keep him in line… the Titans allowed him to see his own death."

Loki's face looked positively horrified and ridiculously confused. "What?"

"The titans did that so that he'd know that he wasn't an ultimate power. That there was someone he'd have to answer to… as a side effect, he became very stoic almost despondent." She sighed. "Because when you know your fate, you get a little depressed."

"What on all of Midgard has that to do with your stubborn refusal to realize—"

"I know my fate, Loki." Theresa interrupted, making him stop and stare at her in shock. "I know that no one will ever want me, and that I'll eventually end up dead in my house alone with my cats." She swallowed. "I'll be surrounded by a home I love, with animals and things I love, but nothing else. And maybe that's better, because then I at least don't have to worry about leaving someone behind, but it's still raw and bitter." She looked away, swallowing hard and furiously blinking the tears away. "That's why it hurts to talk about this."

Loki rushed forward, crowding into Theresa's space. His fist hitting the wall just above her head. Theresa winced as the back hit the wall just behind her and stared up at him. At first she was frightened, but she very quickly shed that and became angry.

"To some people, you matter." He ground out, glaring heatedly at her.

"You'd be surprised how easy it is to forget all about me." She assured. "Tell me another lie, Lie-Smith." Theresa challenged. His face quivered in outrage before settling in a strange sort of calm. He stared at her and she could feel him contemplating what to say next.

"I loathe these visits I have with you." He said, very nearly in a whisper. She was very ready to just open her mouth and snap right back at him. That's how skilled of a liar he was. She was almost taken in by it… until a very solid cold pressed against the base of her skull. She shivered slightly, watching his expression shift into worry. Then the truth floated to her.

'_You're the one respite I have in this entire realm.'_

Her eyes widened. Acceptance had settled on his face, and she could do little more than blink rapidly as she processed that information.

"Loki..I.."

"Just stop. Stop acting like you have no worth." Loki said evenly. "Some people might actually need you."

Theresa's expression softened into affection. "Okay. No more devaluing." She smiled. "But that means you can't do it to yourself either."

He left out a deep breath, sounding partially relieved and partially put out. "Very well." He eyed her speculatively. "This isn't what I came here to ask of you."

"You mean you actually had a purpose?" Theresa asked with a smirk.

"I was wondering if.." He eyed her again, his eyes descending to her hands before slowly returning to her eyes. He almost reminded her of a child trying to play innocent. "..if perhaps you could cut my hair?"

Theresa felt a tiny smile bloom on her face as she considered his expression. "Of course I can." She said softly.

* * *

I had just finished making everyone lunch and had decided to hand deliver them. I had placed several stacks of different kinds of sandwiches, which was everyone's favorite snack, on a huge tray. Everyone was still upset over what had happened between Mr. Stark and me, so I figured lightly chatting with everyone would ease the tension a bit, and show that there were no hard feelings.

I took the tray of sandwiches and first headed down to where Steve and Natasha were in the work out part of the huge bunker.

"Hey, guys," I said, pushing the door open with my hip. "I brought food. Don't want you guys passing out."

They both stopped simultaneously, and looked at me. Without saying anything, they both picked up a sandwich and started eating. I thought this would ease the tension, but I guess I was wrong. It didn't seem to be working.

I walked over to Steve and held the tray between us. Steve hesitantly took a sandwich and started nibbling while glancing at me.

I gave him a reassuring smile and walked over to Natasha. The two silently nibbled on their sandwiches. I could hear their harsh breathing from working out so much between bites.

After a few more moments of silence, Natasha spoke up.

"These are good, EIizabeth."

"Yes," Steve said quickly, nodding in agreement. "Thank you."

"No problem. Let me know if you guys need anything else, okay?"

I scuttled out and went to search for Thor.

I found him in a separate part of the bunker, throwing Mjolnir around the custom made 'indestructible' clear walls. I stood a few feet away from the room, just to be safe, watching the hammer bounce back and forth from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. Thor finally saw me. He opened the door and eyed the tray and hurried toward me.

"Tiny Elizabeth! You have brought me nourishment!"

"Uh, yeah. Here." I offered the tray and Thor took 8 sandwiches.

"How's everything going?" I asked, watching him devour the food. He reached for more sandwiches before answering.

"Everything is grand!" He bellowed. "But I do have a question for you, Miss Elizabeth."

I nodded for him to continue.

"Why has everyone been so somber lately?" He asked between mouthfuls.

"Oh, it's nothing, just a spat between Mr. Stark and me." I said sighing.

"You and the Man of Iron did have a fight before dinner the other night, but I do not understand what is going on. Why is everyone so upset?"

"I don't know if I should explain." I said uncomfortably. "You'd really hate Mr. Stark for it."

"I am not overly fond of him anyway."

I explained to Thor the extent of what had happened between Mr. Stark and me. Thor didn't really seem to understand the importance of the situation, so I gave up explaining. I wished Thor a happy work out and proceeded to the bottom part of the bunker where the lab was located.

"Knock knock!" I called, since I couldn't open the door.

After a few moments, Bruce slowly opened the door and peaked his head around the corner from the dimly lit room.

"Hi," he said.

"I brought food!" I said cheerfully, getting right to the point.

Bruce nodded and opened the door to let me in.

I offered the tray to Bruce and, after he took a couple sandwiches, he shuffled back to his side of the lab.

I walked around, trying to find Mr. Stark. I bumped in to several tables and forgotten machines before I finally found him hunched over a huge tablet at a desk, intently searching through his computer system.

Before I walked up to him, I saw, through my ability that he was searching for the bug that happened the day before.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked.

"Working," he grumbled.

I nodded, idly standing next to him, holding what few sandwiches were left.

"Mr. Stark."

He kept searching, not looking up.

"I'm sorry," I started, clearing my throat. "For my part in this whole mess."

He still didn't bother to look up or acknowledge me any further.

"And I forgive you." I continued. "Even though you haven't apologized."

I impatiently tapped my foot, waiting for a response. Nothing.

"What's got your attention? Something really important must be bothering you."

Mr. Stark sighed heavily and said, "Something entered the system."

"Oh."

"And then it disappeared." He continued explaining, still scrolling through information.

"Well, isn't that a good thing?" I asked.

Mr. Stark nodded slightly. "I didn't get rid of it, though."

I leaned over his shoulder. "I still don't see the problem. The bug is gone."

"Yes, but something else came in to the system. A "HandsFree" Glitch wiped it out. I'm trying to figure out what this HandsFree is, where it came from, and how it got in to my system."

I put the tray down next to him on the table and began slowly walking away.

"Well, it looks like you're really busy." I said nervously. "I'll just catch you later, then."

I hurried out the door, but not before I heard Bruce call out, "Thanks for the sandwiches!"

I nodded and quickly shut the door behind me.

* * *

**MsMoon**: And scene :)

**Glitch**: bad'um tish!

**MsMoon**: So the ninth is coming soon.

**Glitch**: … the ninth?

**MsMoon**: Yeah.. February ninth. We really should do something.

**Glitch**:….

**MsMoon**: … you have no idea what I'm talking about ..

**Glitch**: I uh…what?

**MsMoon**: February ninth is Tom Hiddleston's birthday!

**Glitch**: No way!

**MsMoon**: Way.

**Glitch**: I can't… We should do something!

**MsMoon**: We _should_ do something.

**Glitch**: What should we do?

**MsMoon**: … we could send him a birthday card and watch Suburban Shoot out and Wallander. Talk about your union of opposites…

**Glitch**: Heh.

**MsMoon**: We'll think of something :) And we'll be writing in the mean time!


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